


What Can Be, What Will Be: Year Seven (Original)

by 30KEWNE



Series: What Can Be, What Will Be (Original Series) [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Angels, F/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Morally Ambiguous Character, Not Canon Compliant, Powerful Severus Snape, Severus Snape Has a Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2020-10-19 16:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 27,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20660264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30KEWNE/pseuds/30KEWNE
Summary: After draining his magic temporarily stopping Abraxas, Severus must return to Hogwarts for his final year. However, this year will prove to be the most dangerous one yet as forces work within the background to cause a chain reaction of horrifying events within the walls of the school.NOTE: I have NOT given my permission to post any of my stories on another website nor do I have any plans to do so in the near future. If you see this, or any of my other works posted to other websites, please do let me know because I have not authorized it.





	1. Planning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, it's been a while. I haven't been able to get this out for multiple reasons, but the main one is that I just had a lot going on in my personal life and I had to take a step back from writing for a while. This really showed with the last work I attempted. Hopefully things will be improving now. I promised you guys I would not be abandoning this series and I haven't. I just needed to cool down for a while. Also, I will not be making any promises on when updates will come because every time I do that it comes back to bite me. They will be ready when they're ready.

Lord Voldemort is a very cunning man indeed. One would need to be to achieve his position. He has been working his current plan for months and has decided that now is the time to put it in motion. It would be his last chance to execute one of his "to do list" items from within the shadows after all. After this year he would need to get involved himself, and he was not ready to do that until further...precautions could be taken. At that moment, the door opened and in walked one of his most trusted servants. 

"Lucius," Voldemort said. 

"My Lord," Lucius responded, bowing before his master. 

"Do you remember the special object I entrusted you with last year?" Voldemort asked. 

"Of course, my Lord. What shall you have me do with it?" Lucius asked. 

"The time has come to put my plans into action. Make sure the object gets to Hogwarts. Preferably in the hands of someone naive enough to use it. We need Severus Snape and Lily Evans removed from the picture. Snape gets top priority, but Evans would only become more detrimental to our plans if she is left alive."

"Of course, my Lord. It shall be done."

"Do not fail me, Lucius. The consequences will be...severe if you do," Voldemort threatened. With that Lucius took his leave. 

Lucius Malfoy walked back to his study where the object was kept. He did not understand why it was so important. He also did not understand how it would help them eliminate Snape and his little mudblood girlfriend Evans. Lucius sees Evans as no consequence but the idea of Snape's power being unleashed upon him terrifies him more than even the wrath of his Lord...not that he would ever admit that. To do so would mean certain death. After the whole fiasco with Abraxas, to even say the word "Angel" in his presence meant you would be met with an automatic Cruciatus. It was a taboo word in the Dark Lord's presence. He took out the black book and looked it over. He had to think of a way to get it into Hogwarts and into the hands of someone who would use it...whatever that meant. He has a few candidates in mind, but the most likely one being the little sister of Damon Jones. From what Lucius has heard, the girl isn't too bright. Not anywhere near as much as her brother anyway. If anyone would be dumb enough to use something given to them by a stranger, it would be her. The only trick would be making sure it isn't found before it gets there, specifically by Snape. But, he's Lucius Malfoy. He always figures out how to make things work. His master's plan will succeed.


	2. Running Into Lucius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting two chapters at once because the first one was rather short and I am not going to leave you guys with that after such a long break, so enjoy the double update! Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Severus woke up to another sunny morning. The summer had gone by rather quickly and now it was time to get their supplies for their final year. He was amazed at the fact that this was his last year. It still seemed like yesterday when he was introducing Lily to magic itself when they were nine years old. Memories are wonderful things.

"Hey, Sev," Lily said as she walked up to him.

"Hey yourself," Severus responded as he kissed her cheek.

"Feels strange doesn't it? That this will be our last year. What shall we do after?" Lily asked.

"Well, I know what I have to do," Severus responded gravely.

"Still thinking about it?" Lily asked with a frown on her face.

"What else is there to think about? He tried to kill us right here in this very house. Although we have made peace with Amara and she enforced stronger wards, he might find a way through. He did so before."

"Sev," Lily started, but Severus wasn't done yet.

"And what of this year? How will I succeed? My magic has still not fully recharged. I have never strained it that much. It's a miracle I didn't die."

"But you didn't. You can use magic again, which means it has recharged enough. The rest will just take time."

"I know, Lil. I am just worried. I have a very bad feeling about this year. I know Dumbledore managed to pull some strings to allow me to come back, but I flat out killed somebody within the school. My potential has been exposed. I will likely be feared even worse than the Dark Lord. I'll be surprised if people aren't trying to curse me when my back is turned."

"We will get through it together, Sev. I am sure it won't be that bad. _He_ was bad news, you and I both know that. But you will always have me and I will stand by your side no matter what. Remus and Damon will too."

"Sorry to interrupt," John's voice called out. "But we need to get going."

"Sorry. We got a little too wrapped up in our discussion," Lily responded.

"It's fine. For the record, Severus, I still think what you did was the right move. Some people are too far gone to be saved and he tried to kill the both of you and had he succeeded he would not have stopped there. Yes, you may be feared by some, but don't let that bring you down. Killing is never easy, but sometimes it is necessary no matter the cost," John assured him.

"Thank you. I won't let it get to me."

"I am glad to hear it. Now let's get going before it gets too crowded or we'll never get out of there."

They arrived at Diagon Alley sometime later. They had not missed the crowd. In fact, they arrived dead smack in the middle of it. Many people recognized Severus and the terror in their eyes was not lost on him. This is exactly what he was afraid of. They looked at him as if he was going to set them on fire or kill them in some other horrible way if they so much as looked at him wrong. Severus and Lily decided to get their books first since it seemed to be the least crowded. They ran into Damon and his little sister Verlaine in there.

"No way, Severus Snape. I never thought I'd see you back here again after what happened last year," Damon said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. Dumbledore managed to pull some strings. I always underestimate how many connections that man has," Severus responded.

"You and me both. Also, I see how the others have been looking at you. I'm not afraid by the way. I know you'd never hurt those who did not deserve it, same with my sister and my mother. That bastard deserved it," Damon said with more venom than he had ever heard in his voice.

"Did he now?" A voice said. They all turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing behind them. Severus, Lily and Damon were instantly on alert. Violet and John, who had accompanied them, saw their looks and knew this man was bad news.

"I didn't know a teenager deserved to be lit on fire. What a terrible way to kill someone," Lucius said with a smirk.

"Cut the shit. You have done worse I'm sure," Lily said.

"Do you have anything to prove that, Evans?" Lucius said with a sneer and his voice was dripping with obvious derision.

"Muggle filth littering this beautiful place. How far we have fallen," he turned his eyes to Violet and John at that.

"Yes, how far we have fallen indeed. So far that the Angels have had to get involved to save our kind. Oh what's the matter Lucius? Scared of a beautiful creature with wings and a halo?"

Lucius saw what Severus was trying to do, so he decided to do the same thing. "How does it feel to be feared, Snape? To see all those people looking at you in absolute terror that you are going to do something horrible to them? Had you not opposed us, I would have asked you to join our ranks. We desire the very best after all."

Lucius smirked when he saw he was getting Severus worked up. He then turned his eyes to Verlaine, who was watching with interest. He took a book out of her cauldron and looked at it.

"Why reuse something, when you can buy a new one? Being a heater at St. Mungos, your mother can surely afford it."

"Because we don't like to be wasteful. The book is still in decent shape. Now get the hell out of here before I burn that ridiculous blonde hair right off your head, Death Eater," Damon said, wand drawn and ready to defend his sister and friends should the need arise.

"I have places to be, anyway. I have no desire to hang around such _filth_." He placed the book back into Verlaine's cauldron. However, nobody saw the second book that had been hidden within it. He walked out after that, never to be seen again.

Severus and Lily finished their shopping, said goodbye to Damon and Verlaine and then headed for home. On the way back, Violet asked "who the bloody hell was that?"

"A very unpleasant person," was Severus' reply.

"One of those Death Eater people?" Violet asked.

"One of the biggest fanatics too. I don't understand why he showed up in Diagon Alley unless it was to do something. The weird thing is, he didn't do anything. Just said some taunting words and left," Lily said.

"I'm not so sure about that. I may be a filthy Muggle as he called me, but I am not a stupid man. He was definitely there with a goal in mind other than to taunt you. What he did was run a distraction," John said.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked.

"I could have sworn I saw him place something in that girl's belongings. I didn't see what it was, though," John answered.

"Are you sure? I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He just put her book back," Lily responded.

"Something definitely was not right. You two keep an eye out this year. If my suspicions are correct and he placed something foul within that girl's belongings, I can only imagine at what will happen to not only her, but to everyone there."

After a ridiculously long day, Lily and Severus had stayed up that night discussing the events of the day.

"What do you think my dad meant by what he said?" she asked him.

"I have no idea. I didn't see a book other than Verlaine's," Severus answered.

"Neither did I. But if it was just a book, how much damage could it truly do?" Lily asked.

"If it's cursed, a lot. I say do what your dad said and keep an eye out. If anything strange starts to happen, we'll need to stop it immediately. Too bad I have no way to contact Damon until school starts or I'd tell him to search Verlaine's belongings to see if something had been placed there that isn't hers."

"Let's go to bed, Sev. Nothing we can do about it now anyway."

"Agreed."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy was once again summoned to his master's office. He kneeled before him as he was asked the knowing question.

"Did you do as I asked of you?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes, it is done my Lord. I ran enough distraction that Snape and Evans did not even notice as I slipped the book into the girl's cauldron. Neither did her brother or the filthy muggles that were there."

"Excellent. Now we wait. Before long, Snape and the mudblood will be out of the picture. Those two have been a thorn in my side for far too long."

"Agreed. It is time we got rid of them."

"You are dismissed, Lucius."

Lucius wasted no time in getting out of there. He had no idea what was going to happen, but knowing his master, it would be something wicked. At this thought, Lucius grinned. Yes, his master was right. Snape and the filthy mudblood girl had been a thorn in their side for too long. It was time to show them just who was superior.

* * *

  
The next morning, Severus called out to Amara, and she appeared just as always.

"What is it, Sev?" she asked.

"I am asking for an update on Abraxas. Has anything happened that might look like his doing?" Severus asked.

"Nothing. He's completely off the grid. It seems like you hit him harder than you thought. Definitely slowed his recovery process."

"Must be. Anything on Riddle? One of his cronies cornered me and Lily in Diagon Alley yesterday."

"Are you two alright?" Amara asked, concerned.

"No, he just spent a few minutes taunting us and then left. John thinks he saw something suspicious but I am not so sure."

"Well, nothing more than the usual. Nothing to indicate that he's cooking up some sort of big plan. Just keep an eye out, if anything suspicious starts happening just let me know and I'll come."

"Will do."

"I'll be in touch," and with that Amara made her exit.

Severus sat down on his bed. He had no idea what was going to happen this year, but he would repeat his thoughts he voiced to Lily earlier. He has a very bad feeling about it. If John truly did see something suspicious, he needed to be on his toes immediately. He knew Riddle would be coming after him once his true potential was exposed, but this goes beyond him. It puts the entirety of Hogwarts in danger. He needed to keep this between him and Lily for now so as to not cause panic in case it is a false alarm, but at the same time he wants people to be aware of a potential threat. For once, he has no idea what to do and is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He needed to halt his focus on Abraxas for now since it seems like he won't be doing anything for a while. Riddle is currently the bigger threat and if a plan to wreak havoc at Hogwarts was just put into motion by Lucius, he needs to derail it before it is too late.


	3. Final Year Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters done already, I like how this is going. Hopefully I can finish up this series by the end of the year and move on to something else you guys might like. Anyway, enjoy the update. Explanations about some things will be in the end note.

Before they knew it, it was time to return to Hogwarts. Severus had never wanted to be anywhere else more than he did right now. He was not looking forward to what he knew would be fear and outright hostility. He wouldn't be surprised if some idiots tried to ambush him the minute he walked through the doors. Not that he wouldn't make short work of them anyway, it would just be very annoying. He promised himself that he was done screwing around and if anyone dared to try to hex him, he would return the favor tenfold. Abraxas may no longer have influence over him, but anyone would be a fool to think the so called "dark side" was all him. Severus most definitely had his own dark side and it was time to let it out. One could not win a war with stunners after all and Severus would be fighting two of them simultaneously. He soon dozed off, not at all looking forward to the upcoming year.

"Sev," Lily was soon shaking him awake. "We'll be there soon, we should get changed."

"Oh. Right," Sev responded, stepping out of the room.

He was back shortly after she finished changing. She could tell that he wasn't looking forward to the year and knew exactly why. She took his hand in support.

"If it makes you feel any better, I am not looking forward to it either. I just want it to be done already."

"The thoughts of Abraxas and Riddle have all but ruined any fun this year could have been. Not to mention the hate and fear that will await me the minute I walk through those doors."

"Well don't mind them. Those that matter aren't afraid of you."

Before anything else could be said between them, the train slowed to a stop indicating their arrival. After the ride up to the school and the walk through the big doors, it was just as bad as Severus was expecting. The looks were a mix of terror as if he'd murder them right then and there and hatred (mostly from the Slytherins.) The only ones who did not direct one or both looks at him were his friends and the soon-to-be first years who did not know who he was. He sat down at the Slytherin table and listened to the sorting. Once that was finished he listened to another one of Dumbledore's boring speeches. Thankfully it would be the last time he would have to listen to one. He looked over to Lily and she sent him a small smile in return. Once they were dismissed, Severus felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He looked down and saw blood running down his side. It was unmistakably a piercing hex and it had gone all the way through. He turned around to face Peter Pettigrew, a reluctant Sirius Black and Marissa's gang who had harassed Lily after his departure last year.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Marissa sneered.

"Nice work, Marissa. Catching me off guard. First one's free. Next one will cost you greatly. Tread with caution," Severus said in a warning tone.

Marissa noticed the bleeding stop and then the wound closing. She decided to try sending another curse at him, only to have it deflected right back at her. It hit her square in the chest and sent her reeling backward.

"A blood poisoning curse? Did you really think that would work even if it connected?" Severus sneered.

The others, except Sirius tried to attack him at once. He was hit with another piercing hex. Had this one been a couple inches lower it would have gone right through his heart. These people were out to kill.

"Okay, have it your way," Severus said as he drew the Emerald Dagger. He was not intending to actually use it but he would if it actually came to it.

Peter shouted in alarm and tried to knock the blade away by disarming him, only to be blown back by a blast of magical energy. Many more hexes were thrown his way and they were either blocked or sidestepped. Severus sent stunners at each of his attackers individually, rendering them unconscious except for Sirius. Only Marissa, who was just recovering, remained conscious and Severus approached her and picked her up by her robes and held the Emerald Dagger so she could see it clearly.

"If you were a Death Eater, you would be dead. But you're not, so I am going to give you a pass. However, if you try this again, if you try to harm my friends, you will be very sorry indeed," he said with barely contained rage.

"Also, for what I am about to do you're welcome," he finished as he removed the effects of the blood poisoning curse, rather painfully. He then stunned her immediately after so she couldn't attack him. He put away the Emerald Dagger as he looked at Sirius.

"Are you going to try anything? If so, I can deal with you just as easily as I did these idiots," Severus said.

"No, I didn't even want to be here. They pressured me into it," Sirius responded.

"Grow a spine then. Stop listening to what morons tell you. Although you're not very smart yourself so it can't be too surprising that mediocre witches like this so called gang could talk you into this."

"Fuck you Snivellus!"

"No thanks, I am already spoken for. Have a nice night!" with that Severus continued his journey before he had been so rudely interrupted.

Once Severus entered the Slytherin common room, he was met with more hateful stares. He sighed and addressed them.

"If you try to curse me it will end very badly for you. Go on, I am waiting. Take your best shot, cowards."

No one made a move, they just continued to stare at him. He smirked. "I thought so."

The next morning, Severus was called up to Dumbledore's office. Upon arrival, Dumbledore addressed him.

"Ah, how are you, Mr. Snape?" Dumbledore asked.

"Great, considering I was hit twice with a piercing hex yesterday and we had only just gotten here," Severus answered with a scowl on his face.

"Mr. Pettigrew is currently in the infirmary with several cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Courtesy of your encounter I presume?"

"You would be correct. Marissa and her little gang alongside Pettigrew and Black attacked me. Marissa tried to hit me with a blood poisoning curse which I sent back at her. I also removed it, so don't worry."

"I see. I will speak with her right away. Magic like that is not allowed at Hogwarts after all."

"You better. If she tries this again, I won't be so generous and reverse her own spell that she put on herself technically speaking."

"Better get going to your first class. Lateness on the first day looks very bad after all."

Severus wasted no time in getting out of there. He quickly met up with Lily and Remus who wasted no time in questioning him.

"Sev what happened? Peter did not come to bed last night and Sirius was grumbling about you," Remus said.

"Oh, they and Marissa's little gang thought it would be funny to ambush me and try to kill me in the process. I hit Pettigrew with my energy wave, and stunned the others,"  
he responded, vaguely.

Lily looked like she didn't quite believe him and made that thought known. "What really happened, Sev?"

"What I told you, aside from the fact that Marissa also tried the blood poisoning curse that I reflected back at her. I removed it, but I was tempted not to," Severus answered.

"Well we're glad you did. Being the better person is important," Remus said.

The three arrived at Potions class and sat down at their usual seats. At least the first class was Severus' favorite and he could enjoy at least one thing about this year.

* * *

  
James Potter was furious. The attack on Severus 'Snivellus' Snape had failed. He had put Marissa's gang up to the task of removing him from the picture permanently. They then chose to get Sirius and Peter involved when he specifically told them not to. What a bunch of morons! How did he get to this position may you ask? You see, he had a really interesting visit over the summer.

**Flashback: 1 month ago**

_James was sitting in Potter Manor's living room, getting ready for the next school year. No harm in preparing early. There was suddenly a flash of white light coming from behind him. Once the blinding light vanished, he turned to see a man standing in front of him and he swore for a second that the man had wings._

_"Hello, James Potter. I'm Abraxas the Dark Angel," Abraxas said with a smile._

_James drew his wand, but was immediately disarmed and sent sprawling across the room. He got back to his feet quickly._

_"Now, is that a way to greet the one who can give you what you desire most?" Abraxas asked._

_"How do you know what I desire?" James asked._

_"I can see inside your mind. You want the Evans girl, but she is already taken by none other than Snape. But you cannot get her because he has compelled you to leave her alone is that right? I can remedy that little problem." Abraxas said._

_Abraxas put his hands on both sides of James' head. James screamed for several minutes before falling over panting._

_"What did you do to me?"_

_"I just granted you immunity to Severus Snape's magic and removed the compulsion he placed on you. No matter what he does, he cannot harm you with his magic ever again."_

_James' eyes lit up at that. "Thank you," he said._

_"But, I did not do this for free. I want you to kill Severus Snape for me," Abraxas responded._

_"Why can't you do it yourself?"_

_"I tried over the summer. My physical form is still weak and he can still overpower me. You, he can no longer touch. I don't care what it takes, get rid of Severus Snape. Once he's gone, you can have the Evans girl to do what you please. I can even compel her to follow your every command. But, if you fail in your task, I will end you. I don't tolerate failure," Abraxas said in a threatening tone._

_James did not care though. Lily...the thought of her alone got him excited in certain areas. He would do it. He would kill Severus Snape if it meant he could have her in any way he wished._

_Abraxas turned to leave, but before he did so, he said one last thing. "Oh, you are going to get yourself killed without this little tip. Watch out for a special weapon he carries. There is not a thing on this Earth that it cannot kill. If he uses it against you, you will die. There is no possible way to make you immune to it. Also, if you want an easy and very painful way to kill him, try the Nephilim-Killing curse."_

_After telling James how to use the Nephilim-Killing curse, he took his leave. He knew James would likely fail in his task, but he could always find other pawns. Ones that are better than some idiot who is obsessed with a girl._

**Flashback end**

James had an almost sadistic smile on his face. Soon, Severus Snape would be dead and Lily would be his forever. The Ministry would never imprison him as Abraxas would break him free if they tried. This year was definitely looking up for one James Potter. He just had to keep an eye out for this weapon Abraxas mentioned. He was not looking forward to dying. After all, how would he have Lily if he was dead? It was time to put his next plan into action as Marissa obviously couldn't handle him. It was time to try out this Nephilim-Killing curse Abraxas told him about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nephilim: the actual name for Severus' bloodline. It is a witch or wizard with the abilities and magical core of an Angel. The Prince bloodline is one of the last as the others were either eliminated after being deemed too dangerous or died out on their own after the last of these lines were either unable to, or decided not to have children.
> 
> Nephilim-Killing curse: functions like the Cruciatus in that it causes immense pain, only much worse than even the strongest Cruciatus could cause. However, unlike the Cruciatus, it will not work on a normal witch or wizard nor will it work on a full blooded Angel. It will also kill the Nephilim if they are held under it for more than two minutes. The victim also cannot use magic while they are under the influence of it.


	4. Attacks, Revelations and Executioners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome back. I hope not every update will take this long, but Algebra is a pain in the ass and doesn't leave me with a lot of time. The fact that this chapter is easily the longest one I have ever written did not help matters. I hope you enjoy.

James Potter was looking at his map that allows him to track anybody within the halls of Hogwarts. He finally found the one person he was looking for. It was time to enact his plan. He looked over to Lily with a sinister smirk on his face. Once she got up and left the room, he followed her and drew his wand. He pointed it at the back of her neck and, at her startled gasp, he spoke.

"Now, Evans. Don't want to be making any noise do we? I would hate to have to kill you," he said.

"What do you want?" Lily asked, voice wavering a bit.

"You are going to come with me. I am going to give Snivellus a little lesson and then once he's out of the picture, I am going to claim you as mine," James replied, not bothering to hide his intentions.

Lily tried to fight back once she heard that, but James slapped her hard and she was knocked to the ground. Dazed, she barely registered him conjuring ropes around her. He then used his wand to lift her and carry her through the halls, disillusioning them both so as to not draw attention. He arrived at his destination at last.

"Well, well, Snivellus," James sneered. Severus instantly turned around. He saw Lily on the ground bleeding from her mouth as a result of James' slap.

Severus felt his magic flare when he saw Lily, knowing that this was James' doing. He held up his hand, and was shocked to see what happened. James was supposed to be flung back, but he remained where he stood. Severus tried again to the same result.

"Surprised? Yeah, your magic doesn't work on me anymore. Turns out I had friends in high places that I didn't even know about."

"Abraxas?"

"Yes. Doesn't matter how you know, you'll be dead soon enough."

"You have the guts to cast the Killing Curse? That's laughable," Severus snorted in amusement at that thought.

"Oh, no. I am going to cast something much worse for you." James put up silencing wards throughout the entire hallway and then began to spout nonsense that Severus didn't recognize. It sounded almost ritualistic.

"Dolores Inferni Circumdederunt Matrem Perculit Obscaenum Gigantes Amet," James chanted. A bright gold beam shot out from his wand at lightning speed and struck Severus in the chest before he could even react.

Agony. That was the only word to describe it. He thought the Cruciatus was bad? This was so, so much worse. Instead of the sensation of a thousand white hot needles piercing the skin like the Cruciatus had, this felt like the flesh was slowly being ripped from his bones in the most painful way imaginable. Maybe that was what was actually happening as he felt blood start to trickle down from somewhere. He couldn't identify where as he was in too much pain to concentrate. He barely made out James' next words.

"Soon you'll be dead and gone, Snivellus. Don't worry, I'll make sure Lily is taken care of, good and proper." With that, Severus' consciousness ceased to exist.

James smirked when he saw Severus go limp. It took much longer than expected, but then again Abraxas did mention Severus was no ordinary Nephilim. He did not notice that Lily had managed to free herself during the encounter nor that she had her wand back. He suddenly felt pain as flames erupted from his back. He turned to see Lily pointing her wand at him and he quickly rushed to extinguish the fire. He raised his wand and threw Lily back to the floor.

"I have to hand it to you, you're really determined to fight for this foul creature," James sneered.

"He's better than anything you will ever hope to be you psychopath," Lily bit back.

James did not take to this too well and stomped on Lily's arm, hard. She screamed as she felt her arm break. It was the first time in her life she had ever truly broken a bone in her body. The closest to it before was when James had tried to give her a love potion and she punched him in the face in return.

"It's really too bad. You and I could have been great together had you come to me willingly. No matter, I have alternatives,"

Lily saw Severus groggily making his way to his feet behind James. It seems like he had been forgotten about. However, before she could react to him, James raised his wand. He began to speak the spell of an Unforgivable. "Imperi-"

He never finished. Instead, he screamed in agony as his hand was suddenly pinned to the base of one of the stone torches by a blade with emerald stones in the handle. The Emerald Dagger. It had severed one of his fingers and cut his wand clean in two going through his hand.

"Looks like you're not immune to that," Severus sneered. James could barely make him out through the blinding pain.

"What is going on here?" A voice called out. It was Amara. Severus fell back to his knees, he had to fight with everything he had just to stop James from using the Imperius on Lily.

Amara's eyes went wide. "Dear Lord," she said quietly. She rushed to him and forced a vial of foul tasting liquid down his throat. He felt his strength return instantly.

"What was that?" Severus asked.

"I'll explain everything later. We need to deal with this thing first," she said, pointing to James. Her voice laced with more coldness and venom than Severus had ever heard it.

Amara pulled the dagger out of the torch and James' hand, giving it back to Severus. She then burned the wounds caused by the weapon, stopping the bleeding. James squealed in pain.

"Shut up," Amara snarled. "Be grateful I'm not letting you bleed to death. Not that it'll matter in the end," she said that last part quietly.

Amara tied James up and vanished all evidence of what had gone down. "I'll be back soon to have a talk about what happened tonight, there are many things you both should know. But first, I have a meeting with Dumbledore and then I have to take care of Potter here." She took James and vanished.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore almost jumped in surprise when Amara appeared in his office with James Potter tied up. What startled him more was that James' right hand was missing a finger and looked to be burned.

"What is the meaning of this? What have you done?" Dumbledore asked.

"Me?" Amara asked, outraged. "I have done nothing! This snivelling little weasel nearly killed Severus with the Nephilim-Killing Curse. Had it not been for Lily managing to free herself on a whim of accidental magic, he would be dead."

Dumbledore went white at the words "Nephilim-Killing Curse." He looked to James in disgust.

"That curse is-"

"Say no more." Dumbledore interrupted. "I know of it. The darkest of the dark magics."

"In regards, James will be punished under Angelic law. The use of that curse carries an automatic death sentence. He will be executed at sundown tomorrow night. If you dare interfere, I will not hesitate to do the same to you. I would recommend not trying it."

"I am not one to agree with killing anybody under any circumstances, but even I am not foolish enough to try to stop you."

"Good. Glad we got that out of the way. Now you do your duty. He needs to be formally expelled so as to not raise suspicion."

Amara woke James up and Dumbledore did as was required. Amara then stunned James again and took him away. Dumbledore shook his head in sadness. What was the world coming to? Dark Lords, Fallen Angels and now the Nephilim-Killing Curse? It was too much for an old man to process at once. He looked over to his phoenix and the bird trilled a comforting song.

* * *

James woke up in some sort of dungeon the next day. Chains were wrapped painfully around his wrists and ankles, binding him in place. He heard a voice speak, it was that woman from earlier.

"James Potter, you have been found guilty by the High Counsel of casting the Nephilim-Killing Curse on one Severus Snape. You will be executed at sundown tonight. Anything more you would like to say?" Amara asked.

"No, please I don't want to die," James tried to beg. Amara showed no mercy in her response.

"You should have thought about that before you decided to help Abraxas. You should have thought about that before you decided to cast the Nephilim-Killing Curse, the latter of which carries a death sentence under our law no matter the circumstances. Yes, I know about Abraxas coming to you. I know everything. You sit here and beg for mercy, when you were trying to make Lily Evans do the exact same thing?"

"But what about my family?"

"Don't you worry. I will have a very long conversation with them when I drop your body off to them for burial. I doubt they'll even visit your grave site after you are six feet under. Maybe they'll just burn your body and flush the ashes down a toilet. We'll find out soon enough."

With that, Amara took her exit. She needed to get back to Severus and Lily to explain the things she needed to explain.

* * *

  
Severus and Lily were sitting in the room they usually met Amara in.

"She's a bit late isn't she?" Severus asked.

"She'll be here soon." Lily answered.

"How are you doing, Sev?"

"I'm fine now. Whatever that potion Amara gave me was, it reversed the effects of the curse entirely."

"Good thing too," Amara's voice interrupted. "That was a rather nasty curse. Had I not reversed it with the cure, you would have died."

"What was that curse?" Lily asked.

"The Nephilim-Killing Curse." Amara said with disgust. "It was outlawed centuries ago. The use of it carries an automatic death sentence under Angelic law."

"What will happen to James then?" Lily asked.

"He'll be executed at sundown tonight and his body returned to his family for burial," Amara stated, seeing no reason to lie.

"Good," Lily spat.

"You said it was called the Nephilim-Killing Curse. What is a Nephilim?" Severus asked, having no idea what that word meant.

"It's the official name given by Angels to humans who have Angelic power. It's not a well known word, so it isn't too surprising you wouldn't know what it means. You, your entire bloodline, you're all Nephilim. Albus Dumbledore is one too. They originated when a few Angels mated with magical humans."

"So I'm a...Nephilim?" Severus asked, the word sounding very strange to utter. "My mother was one too. Why did she become so...weak and broken?"

Amara sighed. "For all her great power, Eileen Prince was a very lonely woman. The fact that her parents were Pure-Blood bigots did not help this matter. She wanted much better out of life and when she ran off with the Muggle, they disowned her. At first, the relationship was solid. But, Tobias Snape changed and became spiteful. She started repressing her magic hoping he would love her again. She even bound yours for the same reason. Doing so not only did major damage to your magical core when it was unbound, but it suppressed your ability to regenerate and Tobias quickly realized this. The rest as they say is history."

"She was a very selfish woman, Severus. You were angry at her, and rightfully so. I wanted to intervene and stop that foolish woman, but I was advised to stay out of it and let nature work her course so I did."

Severus didn't know what to say. He knew his mother was weak, but he never knew she was this selfish.

"How many of these Nephilim bloodlines exist?" Severus asked instead.

"Not very many. Nor were there ever. There used to be a total of 10, but two of them went dark so they were destroyed. Five more died out when they were unable or unwilling to continue the line. Three still exist today. There's of course the Prince bloodline through you and Inias. There's the Dumbledore bloodline, and one more from America. The Southwell bloodline."

"I know this is a completely unrelated topic, but where does magic come from?" Lily spoke up.

"Who knows, Lily. Even Angels don't know where they originate nor have we desired to find out. We just...exist. There is one woman who is probably the closest anyone will ever get to discovering it. Henrietta Jones is her name," Amara answered.

"Jones...as in-" Severus started, but Amara finished for him.

"As in your friend, yes. His grandmother. They do not know each other, as Henrietta and her daughter had a major falling out when Damon's mother was still a teenager. They haven't spoken since. Henrietta dedicated her life to her research and let her family slip away. She's a good person, but let curiosity overcome her. Don't make the same mistake should you find yourself in that situation."

"Is she still alive?" Severus asked.

"Last I heard, yes she is still alive. It will be very difficult to track her down if you hope to get in contact with her. But, if you're looking for answers about your heritage you can come to me if you wish. If you're looking for answers on the origins of magic, you can read her book on the subject. I am sorry to say it, but I have to get going."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Severus, there is a solution to the problem you've been facing lately with the Wolfsbane. Get in contact with Damocles Belby. He'll have the solution to your problems." With that, Amara vanished.

Later that night, Severus found a book in his belongings that he knew wasn't there before. There was a note stuck to it with a couple simple sentences. "I hope you find the answers you're looking for. I am ashamed to say that this will likely answer questions even I don't know the answer to."

"The Origins of Magic: Where It Comes From and How to Use It," was printed in bold letters. It was a massive book and obviously took years to create.

The first chapter was about 60 pages long. It talked about Henrietta's findings and theories. It also discussed misconceptions about how magic is stored and used. It briefly mentioned souls, but that there would be more on that particular subject later on. The fifth chapter to be precise. This was what Severus found the most intriguing.

_As mentioned earlier, magical beings have two souls. The first soul, the primary soul, is where emotions such as empathy, love and anger come from. It is what makes a being who they are and as a result, it is far, far more powerful than the secondary soul could ever hope to be. Onto the subject of the secondary soul, more commonly referred to as the "magical core" is what makes up a being's magical capabilities. Muggles do not have this second soul which is why they cannot use magic, at least not in the conventional way. You may ask the question of why I am discussing the primary soul at all, if the secondary soul is where magic comes from. Fear not, your question will be answered. Souls are remarkable and _very_ complicated. If you were to ever look at one, all you would see is a ball of energy because that is really what the soul's true form is, yet they are capable of so much. While the primary and secondary souls serve entirely different purposes, they are made up of the exact same energy. When magic is cast, a fraction of the secondary soul is consumed. However, it has the ability to regenerate remarkably fast. As a result of the two souls being made up of the same energy and matter, they can both be used to cast magic. However, under no circumstances should one ever tap into their primary soul to cast magic. If anyone is wondering, yes I know how to do it but I will not be putting that out to the public as it is far too dangerous. Unlike the secondary soul, the primary soul is not easily repaired as it was never meant to be used like this and it can only take so much damage before it goes up in smoke. The loss of a secondary soul kills a magical being, the loss of a primary soul results in a fate much worse than death. I must also address my earlier mention of Muggles not being able to cast magic in the conventional way. It is true that they have no secondary soul to use magic, but this does not mean that they cannot do so at all. Muggles can absolutely use magic if they have the knowledge of how to tap into their primary soul to access its energy. But, as I mentioned, it is dangerous and should not be done._

Severus did not read any more past this point. He knew the soul could be used for magic, Inias did it last year. But to find out that a magical being has two souls, or that the primary soul could even be used that extensively? That was mind-blowing information.

* * *

  
Amara looked out the window. It was time. James Potter was to be executed at sundown and that was now. She went down to the dungeon and said two simple words.

"It's time."

She dragged him up to the room where the High Counsel would be watching. She took off the shackles as there was no need for them anymore.

"James Potter, before your sentence is carried out, is there any last words you would like to say?" Amara asked.

"I'm sorry Lily" was all he said.

With this, Amara snapped her fingers and James was suddenly on the ground writing in agony as Amara set his insides ablaze. After several moments it was done and all that was left was a body staring lifelessly at the ceiling. James Potter was dead.

Amara turned to the others. "Make the arrangements to take his body back to his family. I must speak to them myself and inform them of why the execution took place."

The others nodded and all shuffled out of the room. Amara didn't take enjoyment in killing, but James had asked for it the moment those words left his lips. She would show no remorse for her actions when he showed none for his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of an info dump, but everything is here for a reason. Henrietta will be important to the story in more ways than one and the part about Muggles being able to tap into their soul to cast magic, man do I have something planned for that *chuckles evilly* 
> 
> Translation: Dolores Inferni Circumdederunt Matrem Perculit Obscaenum Gigantes Amet = Mother Magic I Call Upon you to Strike Down This Foul Nephilim.


	5. Horrors Unleashed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody, an unusually fast posting from the last mega-chapter that is way longer than what I usually post. I ran out of things to do so I sat down at my laptop and got to work. This is the result. I hope you enjoy.

The first month of school was as boring and tedious as ever. Aside from staring death in the face about a month ago, not much had happened. He wrote to Damocles Belby, the original creator of the Wolfsbane formula, and the man told him that he wouldn't be able to visit Hogsmeade until December. He also had no luck on finding Henrietta Jones' whereabouts. He was beginning to doubt that the woman was even still alive. Someone with her knowledge could be very useful in helping to stop Abraxas. It was obvious that Severus could not do anything on his own. Even with Abraxas weakened, Severus had only managed to banish him. If he had been at full power, there was nothing Severus would have been able to do. Unfortunately, Henrietta's knowledge might also make her a target for people like Abraxas or even Riddle for this very reason. Asking Damon about Henrietta would be of no help as he doesn't even know she exists. He let out a long sigh. He still had time. Abraxas had not done anything yet.

"Sev!" a voice called. It was Remus.

"Whoa, Remus calm down. What's going on?" Severus asked.

"Did you read the paper?"

"You know I don't read that garbage. I don't understand why you still do. Hardly anything they print is the actual truth."

"Well you should take a look at this. If it is as I suspect, this is bad. I mean VERY bad."

Severus took one look at the headline. He was hardly surprised these days by what he saw.

**BLOODY BODY FOUND SUSPENDED FROM TREE**

"We've been hearing about this a lot lately, Remus. Riddle and his disgusting lackeys did this. What else is new?"

"I don't think this was them, Sev. Read down further," Remus pointed, his face grim.

Severus did as asked and as he got to one particular line, his heart sank.

"_It is suspected that the unidentified woman was a possible Veela. No other details have been released at this time_," was the final sentence of the article.

"No, no, no. It can't be," Severus said to himself, hoping it wasn't true.

"Watch yourself, Sev. This was a message, I am sure of it. Given what happened this summer..." Remus trailed off.

"Thanks. You watch yourself too."

Severus took the paper and headed for his hidden room. He was joined by Amara seconds later.

"What's the big emergency, Sev?" Amara asked.

"Read this," was all he said and she took it from him. Her eyes went wide.

"Do you think-" she started.

"Yeah. I am certain this was him. Riddle doesn't take the time to hang his victims from trees neither do his followers. Also, they like to torture people with the Cruciatus, not a bladed weapon like this woman obviously was. Add that to the fact that there was no Dark Mark sighted anywhere near where she was found. It all points to Abraxas. This was a message"

"I will go investigate. If this woman was truly a Veela, it means Abraxas is regaining his strength and we need to be prepared. No way would he be able to overpower a fully grown Veela as weak as he was. I'll keep in touch."

* * *

  
Amara was hanging around the scene where the unidentified (possible) Veela was found. After figuring out where her body was taken, she stealthily slipped her way in. Severus' suspicions were right. This woman was definitely a Veela and she had been tortured horribly. Looks like with an Angelic weapon. This was definitely Abraxas' handiwork, there was no mistaking it now. It matches his favorite victim type and his favorite method of killing to a T. She vanished when she heard footsteps outside. She needed to talk to the girl's family and shuddered at the thought. That was not going to go over well given the history of their two species thanks to Abraxas.

She appeared inside the home of the grieving family. Her first mistake. The only occupant, her sister, immediately took her in.

"Angel," she snarled and immediately launched a fireball at Amara. Amara quickly dispersed it with no effort.

"You cannot harm me, Miss." Amara said, lightly.

"Come to gloat about what you did to the only family I had before killing me too? Go ahead. I don't care anymore," the girl said.

"I do not wish to kill anybody. I did not kill your sister, but I do know who did. If you calm down, I would like to talk about the day she disappeared and try to figure out what happened."

The girl nodded. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Well first I'll tell you the history of my prime suspect. Abraxas. He is an Angel, you aren't wrong about your sister being killed by one. Abraxas was here a very long time ago and he killed many of your kind. He was stopped, but recently came back." The girl didn't react so Amara continued. "He also tried to kill the family of one of my closest friends, but was stopped before he could do so. I think your sister was killed as a message to him."

"But why? Why her? She has never harmed anybody in her life. She didn't deserve this." Amara shook her head. The poor girl was devastated. This is exactly what Abraxas did all those years ago to countless families.

"I don't know how he chooses his victims. But I would like to stop him before he takes another life. Can you help me do that?" Amara asked. The girl nodded.

"Okay, now, on the day your sister disappeared, did you notice anything unusual?"

"No, it was just a normal night. I was in the living room and suddenly I heard a scream. I went upstairs and she was just gone. Obviously someone took her, but I didn't hear anyone apparate in. I didn't even hear anybody else in the house."

"Okay. Look at me, alright? What is your name?"

"Caroline," the girl responded. "My sister was Annabel."

"I promise you I will do all I can to find Abraxas and make him pay for what he has done," Amara said.

Caroline let out a sob. "Please, just make it stop."

Amara embraced Caroline. She held her as she continued to cry and did her best to sooth her. How could any Angel willingly do this to someone? Veela may be flawed in many ways, but they were beings with feelings too. Amara has never killed anybody who didn't do something to deserve it nor has any other Angel under her charge, most hadn't at all actually. Abraxas would not harm anybody else. He would not tear apart another family as long as she had a say in it.

* * *

  
Unknown to Amara, there was someone who saw her leave. A woman to be specific. This woman was in her late 40's to early 50's and had long black hair. She could easily be mistaken for a 30 year old. After Amara had left, the woman knelt down near the tree that poor Veela girl was hung from. She has the unique ability to sense magical energies. She could sense Amara's, and another. One she has been keeping tabs on for a while. It was unmistakable corruption of Abraxas. While being in the presence of an Angel often filled one with warmth and happiness, Abraxas left people cold and depressed. The woman is not as oblivious as everyone thinks she is. She knows exactly what Abraxas has done to the Veela race, how he nearly drove them to extinction. They will never thrive as they once did thanks to him and he was about to begin again. She apparated away from her spot back to her current residence. She had a letter to write. She pulled out a quill and some parchment and began.

"Dear Severus Snape..."

* * *

  
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Severus was walking down the corridor toward his next class of the day. He was trying to put Abraxas out of his mind, but it was easier said than done. As he rounded the corner, he was met with a sudden energy spike. Something major of magical nature had just gone down here and he was unable to identify the source, which was highly unusual. Usually, he can identify magic, and if it was fresh enough he could identify who cast it. That was not the case here. He looked all around, instantly on alert. This was not the friendly kind of magic and he was expecting an ambush. He tapped into his magic to briefly enhance his senses and with this he could hear what sounds like something wet and heavy being dragged across the stone floor. He could hear no footsteps, however. As he started to investigate, he tripped on something and was sent sprawling to the floor. He looked behind him to see what he had tripped on and was absolutely stunned by what he saw.

"What the hell?"

On the floor was someone he couldn't recall by name. The student's eyes were glossed over and he was staring blankly at the ceiling. A look of shock was frozen on his face.


	6. Mysteries, Mysteries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome to another chapter, finally. I wasn't intending to wait this long to update, but life got in the way and I was thinking about how to go about revamping the bonus content stories as I was unhappy with how they turned out. If you have any ideas, let me know. Anyway, on with the story.

Severus had knelt down next to the frozen student, feeling for a pulse. It was nearly impossible to tell. He has never heard of any magic that could do something like this. He placed his hand on the student's chest, hoping it was something he could reverse. His efforts earned him nothing but a massive headache and feeling like he was about to vomit. He heard footsteps approaching and decided that he best get out of there. Knowing his reputation around here lately, this would no doubt be blamed on him.

The news of what had happened was all over the school the next morning. There were speculations about what had happened. Unsurprisingly, many speculated that Severus was behind the whole thing and that he had some sort of grudge with the victim. Severus rolled his eyes at that. He didn't even know the victim, how could he have a grudge against him? The sheer stupidity of the student body at Hogwarts sometimes. The reactions were mixed, some were that of fear, but most were that of shock and wonder. What kind of magic could possibly do that to someone?

"So what do you think did it?" Remus asked.

"I have no idea. I tried to heal him, but I was unable to do so. This is the first time I have come across something like this," Severus responded.

"Do you think it was one of the Slytherins?" Lily asked.

"No, I really don't think so, Lily. When I walked down that corridor I immediately knew something was wrong. I could feel the Dark magic. When I tried to heal him, it isn't that I was just unable to. It made me physically sick. Whatever did this is no ordinary magic," Severus answered.

"Should we contact Amara?" Remus asked.

"No, she's got enough to deal with. We'll figure this out ourselves. Right now I have another mystery to deal with. I received a strange letter this morning."

"What did it say?" Lily asked.

"Here," Severus said as he handed it to them.

_Dear Severus Snape,_

_I am aware of what happened. He is on the move. I don't want to put too much into a letter in case it gets intercepted. I am not exactly on friendly terms with the Ministry. Meet me in Hogsmeade at your earliest opportunity._

_A friend._

"That's not suspicious at all," Remus remarked.

"Yeah tell me about it. I am going to go anyway though. This could be sincere," Severus said.

"Yeah it could be, but it could also be a trap from Riddle or Abraxas," Lily responded.

"Yeah it could be, Lily. But what if it isn't? I'll be fine. If it's a Death Eater, I can take care of that real quick. If it's Abraxas, well then I'll run."

"Just promise me you'll be safe."

"I promise, Lily."

Hogsmeade weekend arrived. Lily was beside Severus.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"I am as sure as I will be."

"Good luck. Please be safe."

Severus looked around for anyone that seemed out of place. So far, he did not see anybody. Maybe he was early and the mystery person had not arrived yet. Or maybe he was late and they already left. They didn't exactly specify a time for him to arrive. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was a woman.

"I've been expecting you," she said, simply.

He went to speak, but she left no room for discussion and dragged him along. She took him to the back room of some place Severus never even had the chance to catch the name of and the door was sealed.

"No one will bother us back here," the woman said.

"Okay, who are you?" Severus asked.

"Most know me as Anna, my cover name. My real name is Henrietta."

"As in...Henrietta Jones? The woman who has studied magic further than any witch or wizard in this world?"

"The one and only. My studies have gotten me into serious hot water with the British Ministry of Magic. They think most of the magic I looked into is too dangerous," Henrietta stated.

"If you're really Henrietta, prove it."

"I, Henrietta Leannette Jones, swear on my life and magic that I am who I say I am and I have no intent to cause harm to Severus Snape." There was a flash of light, sealing the magical oath.

"As you can see I am not dead," Henrietta stated.

"If the Ministry hates you so much, why would you come here? You're risking Azkaban."

"That place won't hold me. They rely too heavily on Dementors which have no effect on me."

"Okay. Now, about Abraxas since I know that is who you mentioned in your letter. What do you have for me?"

"Straight to business huh? Well, I know that he is regaining his strength. He is dangerously close to doing so as well. That Veela he killed not too long ago? It wasn't her injuries that killed her. Her life force was literally ripped away and absorbed by Abraxas via the use of an extremely old and dark ritual."

"If he reaches full strength, we're screwed," Severus stated, understanding her unspoken meaning. "Is there any way to prevent that?"

"Well, there is the Emerald Dagger but he'll never get close enough to let you use it."

"Yeah I know. Any magic that I can use from a distance?" Severus asked, getting frustrated.

"At full power, your regular magic will do nothing. However, there is one thing that will work. It is extremely dangerous and you must never tell anyone about this knowledge."

"Everything I do is dangerous these days. Lay it on me."

Henrietta pulled out a quill and parchment and began writing things down on it. After a minute or so she was done and handed it to him.

"This is a step by step process on one of the most dangerous types of magic out there. Soul magic."

"Why would you give me this?"

"Because it is the only way. The primary soul is capable of magic more powerful than any other. It has nothing to do whatsoever with the magic typically available to you. For this reason, even Muggles can use it if they have this guide," Henrietta leaned closer before speaking again.

"I must say that you need to use caution and only use this in a dire emergency. With every use, a portion of your soul burns away and the primary soul is not easily repaired. The stronger the magic, the more severe the damage will be. The consequences resulting from the absence of a soul, even for someone like you are very unpleasant."

"If it gets rid of Abraxas then it is worth the cost. After all you said I likely won't be able to use the Emerald Dagger against him seeing as he already fell for that trick once."

"Yeah. Looks like it is time for me to leave. Hope to speak to you again soon," and with that, Henrietta took her exit.

Severus caught up with Remus and Lily. He informed them of everything, minus the soul magic thing. Severus agreed that it was best nobody know, not even Lily. Especially since she would try to stop him if she knew what it would cost. The ends will always justify the means when it comes to Abraxas.

* * *

Abraxas was finished preparing the ritual. Performing this took its toll on his body, but he would be back to full power soon enough. The woman looked up at him with dead eyes. Pathetic witch had dared to resist him and then had the gall to beg for mercy when he started in on her. Abraxas started speaking the necessary words to get the ritual going. He was enveloped in a bright white light, feeling the familiar rush of power that he had felt all those centuries ago before he was reduced to his pathetic state. The woman slumped over, lifeless. Abraxas walked over to the mirror and expanded his wings. His aura is now as bright as it was before his defeat instead of being dull, lifeless and pitiful. He had a sadistic smile on his face.

"I'm back. About bloody time. Severus Snape, I will be coming for you soon enough. But first, I have a few stops to make," he said to himself before he vanished.


	7. He's Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I am finally back. So...I had some unexpected issues come up. The laptop I was previously using was toast and it stopped working shortly after I posted the previous chapter back in November. I was a bit of an idiot and I did not back up any of my files so I lost all of my work including the entire outline for this story. That was the second time I lost work because of technical difficulties. My internet has also been acting very wonky lately and tends to drop out randomly which is very annoying for trying to get anything done. This story was not intentionally put on hold, but all that frustration sort of killed my muse but it's back now. I also have some happy and sad news. Sad news for me is due to unforeseen circumstances I will be taking the next four months off from college which sucks because I will now have to work much harder to make up for the time that I lost. Happy news, however, is that because of this hiatus from college I will be able to get much more writing done much more quickly so expect to see lots of content from now until June. I am starting 2020 strong and I hope you guys are happy with my return.

Abraxas was a very happy Angel. He had just recently regained his lost power, something he had been craving since being resurrected from limbo by that fool Tom Riddle, also known as the most ridiculous moniker Abraxas had ever heard of, Lord Voldemort. It is time he starts checking things off his to-do list. First things first, punish Severus Snape. That arrogant boy and his even more annoying girlfriend have been a pain for far too long and it was time to show them that he was not one to be messed with. He would show them just why he was so feared by those foul creatures who dare lay claim to the beautiful energy that flows within magical beings. He was not going to kill them, not right away. He was going to punish the family first to make them suffer a bit. Starting with the patriarch of the Evans family whom he now has eyes on. He is also alone which is perfect. It is much more fun if his victims are afraid first as he kills them one by one rather than having to kill them all at once. 

John Evans was walking back to his car. He had finished getting supplies for the house and was getting ready to call it a day. He had not received a letter from Lily in quite some time and he wondered how she was doing. He would write to her himself but he has no way of getting the message to her without an owl. He got into his car and began to drive home. He did not realize he was being followed so it was quite a surprise when he found himself shoved back with a blade to his throat. He recognized who this was, Abraxas. Abraxas did not speak as he grabbed a hold of John and vanished with him. Everything went so quickly as John found himself shackled to a torture chair. He was terrified, but he would never allow Abraxas the satisfaction of seeing that for himself. 

"So, John Evans. How I have been dying to meet you," Abraxas said. 

"I know who you are. You nearly killed my daughter last summer," John said. 

"That's right. I did. Of course I did not succeed. Severus banished me and then healed her. Now, I am at full power once more," Abraxas responded. 

"You're going to kill me aren't you?" John asked. 

"Oh yes. I am going to kill you. I am going to kill you, then Violet, then Petunia. Once I am done with your family, I will kill Lily, Remus, Damon, everyone Severus associated with. Then when he is broken and begging for death I will finally grant it to him. Then I will finally resume my work and exterminate those filthy pretenders once and for all."

"I know your story. You want to kill the race known as Veela. No one understands your deep hatred for them. If you're going to kill us all, at least admit why a powerful being like yourself would waste the time." 

"A Muggle like yourself would never understand, but I might as well humor you. Those filthy creatures back in the day used Wizards. They used their attractive aura to seduce males into getting them pregnant and then erasing the knowledge from their mind, robbing a father the chance to ever see his child. They are abominations. They do not deserve to exist, not after everything they did." 

"And what about what you did?" John growled. "How many of them were innocent? How many children did you slaughter? How many children did you force to watch their mothers scream for mercy as they were killed by you and your lackeys? I fought in a war, I dealt with those like you. The only thing making you different from them is you have magic." 

John was not scared now, he was flat out angry. Angry that this...Angel thought had any right to judge a race of sentient beings for how they lived. Sure they may have used people but that did not warrant what Abraxas did to them. 

Abraxas did not like that at all. He quickly whipped out his blade and slashed John in the chest with it before concealing it again. John yelped in pain. 

"That is only a tiny taste of what will happen to you," Abraxas smirked sadistically. 

"Go ahead and kill me. I am not scared of dying. I ran my race, my daughters are grown. I am ready for whatever awaits me on the other side. I just want you to know that I think you are nothing more than a coward hiding behind your power," Abraxas' eyes flared dangerously. "Severus and Lily will find you and make you pay for all you have done. If there is an afterlife for Angels, I hope you suffer." 

"Shut up!" Abraxas growled menacingly. 

John stared Abraxas in the eyes defiantly. He knew that this face would be the last thing he ever saw on this plane of existence. But he was going to go out with a few parting words. "Go ahead. Do it. Do it you coward!"

Abraxas had finally hit his limit. Blade in hand once more, he whipped around faster than the eyes could see and stabbed John straight through his chest. John gasped for a few seconds and gave one last defiant look before death came and the light in his eyes died out. Abraxas began to carve his mark into John's chest. Finished, he stashed the blade once more. 

Abraxas pulled out his list and crossed John's name off it. "One down," he muttered. It was now time to pay Amara a visit. 

Amara was sitting in her office alone, thinking about her next plan. She knew Abraxas was quickly regaining his strength and would soon be at full power if he was not already. However, before she could think on the matter further Abraxas himself had appeared directly in front of her. Before she could even react she found herself thrown to the ground and restrained in less than three seconds. 

"Hello my dear. As you can see, I am now much more powerful than the last time we met."

"If you're here to kill me, get to it already. I will never tell you anything about Severus," Amara said. 

"You know...I thought about killing you right away. However, after killing the patriarch of the Evans family, I decided that I won't kill you. Not right now. You are useful to me." 

"What? You killed John Evans?" 

"Oh yes," Abraxas boasted. "He got mouthy with me, I stabbed him clean through. He was impressive though, stood his ground despite the situation. Can you say the same?" 

"Fuck. Off." Amara growled. 

Abraxas vanished with Amara and strapped her to the same chair he held John Evans. 

"Now that you're all situated and are most definitely not going anywere, I want to make you a deal." Amara just glared at him, not saying a word. Abraxas took her silence as his cue to speak further. 

"I have to admit you are quite beautiful Amara. Even more so than my last. Join me as my new companion and aid me in my quest and I won't torture you," Abraxas said. 

Amara just glared. No way was she going to help him in any way. The Veela...they don't deserve the hell Abraxas will rain down on them. Neither did the remaining members of the Evans family. Severus...she could never bring herself to harm him. She tried to deny it for Lily's sake, but there was no mistaking that feeling. She loved him and not like a friend. She could not bring herself to kill him when she knew she should have. She ruthlessly killed James Potter, not just because he used one of the most cruel curses in existence, but because she was getting Severus' revenge for him. Abraxas can torture her, he can kill her, he can do whatever he wants to her. She will never hurt the one she loves, nor will she hurt those he loves in return. 

"My answer is no. You can torture me all you want Abraxas. You will pay for what you have done. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but mark my words. You. Will. Pay," Amara snarled. 

"Have it your way. Shame I have to hurt that beautiful face." 

* * *

Lily and Severus were frantic. Lily owled home, only to be notified that her father was missing. There was no sign of him anywhere. Severus decided to call upon Amara to see if she could help find out whatever happened to him. However, it was not Amara that showed up. 

"Who are you? Where's Amara?" Severus demanded. 

"You certainly live up to your reputation," the Angel said. "Amara is missing. Taken by Abraxas. Your father is dead, Lily. Killed by Abraxas. Carved his mark into the poor lad's corpse and everything. Name's Balthazar by the way," Balthazar said. 

Lily gasped. "Is he..." 

"Yup. Afraid so," Balthazar answered. 

Lily did not react. She just started walking away. Severus glared at Balthazar, drawing the Emerald Dagger. He did not like this Angel's attitude and was going to get answers one way or another. 

"Where. Is. She?" Severus demanded, shoving Balthazar against the wall, holding the Emerald Dagger to his throat. 

"I don't know. If I did she would be here right now." Balthazar then shoved Severus back using his magic. Severus hit the wall with a loud thud. His grip tightened on the Emerald Dagger, but before he could react Balthazar had his own blade against Severus' throat. 

"Threatening me? I am within my rights to kill you right now," Balthazar looked absolutely furious. "While Amara is gone, I am in charge of the Angels. You can consider this a warning. Threaten me or another one of ours again and I will turn you to ash. I am not Amara and I don't have an obsession with you. I will not hesitate to end your life should I see fit to do so. Also, do not come calling for me every time you stub your toe. Amara may put up with it, but I will not. You are no friend of mine." 

Balthazar started to walk away, before turning around again. "I suggest you find Abraxas soon if you wish to spare the rest of the Evans family," with that Balthazar vanished. 

Severus found Lily slumped against a wall. He walked up to her and took her into his arms and she immediately started crying. He just held her while he let his rage burn inside. Abraxas had taken the only father figure he ever had from him and was now holding his close friend captive doing who knows what to her. With her goes the support of the Angels. Balthazar would kill him in a heartbeat he admitted as much. He was sure others would too, especially if news got out that Severus had threatened him. He needed to reach out to Henrietta. With Amara gone, she was his only chance. He needed to make amends with Dumbledore and hope that Phoenix of his could find her. Severus is going to resolve whatever the hell is going on at Hogwarts right now, then he is going to kill Abraxas. If it is the last thing he ever does he is going to kill that fucking bastard slowly and painfully. 


	8. Another Attack and a Visit to Dumbledore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys here is the 8th chapter. It was not ready when I thought it was going to be I know. It took a bit longer than I was anticipating since it ended up being nearly double the length it was initially supposed to be. There is also the fact that my power went out due to an ice storm so that certainly didn't help. But enough of that nonsense, here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy.

It had been a few weeks since the revelation that Lily's father had been killed and Amara had been taken off to who knows where by Abraxas. The time was now nearing the end of November and Lily would hardly speak to him, or anybody really. It was as if she were a ghost, only existing and not really living. Severus felt much of the same way. Lily's father was the only father he ever had, his own was an abomination at best using him as a punching bag whenever he saw fit to do so. Amara was a close friend of his, always being there whenever he needed her to be. She had even gone out of her way to help him when Abraxas tried to force him to his side. Severus knows she isn't dead, if Abraxas had killed her he would not keep quiet about it. He would be boasting in the most obvious way possible. There is only two possible reasons why he has not killed her yet: he either wants her as his companion or he wants her for information. Either way he is likely torturing her until she gives him what he wants. 

Severus had been putting off his meeting with Dumbledore. He could no longer though, he needed to ask him to use his Phoenix to track down Henrietta. If anyone has a deep enough understanding of magic to be able to track down Amara and Abraxas it would be her. While Dumbledore is smart and certainly powerful, he did not spend his entire life studying all forms of magic as thoroughly as possible. The woman had even managed to grant herself magical power beyond most human comprehension. As Severus pondered his thoughts, he was suddenly distracted by a body on the ground. It was another one of those mysterious attacks that had occurred near the beginning of term. His heart froze when he realized who it was. It was Mary Macdonald. Even worse, Professor McGonagall had not been far behind him. She gasped when she saw Severus standing over Mary's frozen form.  
This was the second time Severus happened to be at the scene of the crime. The rumors and accusations from the first time were bad enough but after this the entire school would be calling to have him hung from the tallest tower. 

"Professor, I know what this looks like but I swear I did not do this," Severus pleaded. 

"This is out of my hands," Professor McGonagall said. 

She led him to Dumbledore's office. He was going there anyway, but not under these circumstances. If Dumbledore did not believe him he would be expelled, arrested and most likely killed by Balthazar once he learned of the circumstances. Nephilim were always taken care of by the Angels if they went dark and started harming innocent people as their magic is too powerful for the Ministry's suppression cells. The Angel had said that he would not hesitate to kill him if he saw fit to do so and if he thought Severus was using his magic to harm innocents, that would be a circumstance for execution. Amara would have believed him instantly though. Despite what some may think, Severus is not stupid. He knows how Amara feels about him. She is handling it very well though and Severus is glad because he cannot return her feelings in that way. His heart belongs to Lily. 

"Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you," McGonagall said and after saying the password the gargoyle moved aside and Severus reluctantly stepped into what may very well be his doom. 

Dumbledore did not seem to be at his usual desk. Maybe he wasn't in the office? Severus decided to look around while he waited for Dumbledore's return. Many of the books in the office were quite old, some of them dating back hundreds of years. There were many gadgets and trinkets sitting on shelves that obviously served some kind of purpose, most likely as monitors should the wards on the castle be disrupted by an outside force. Lastly there was the Phoenix sitting on his perch. Severus forgot what the bird was called, but he was truly a divine creature. He always seemed to take an interest in Severus, something that left him confused. Phoenixes are purely light creatures, something Dumbledore is but Severus is not. He had contemplated joining the Death Eaters at one point. Maybe they do have more similarities than he initially thought. Just then the door opened and Dumbledore stepped in. 

"Professor McGonagall mentioned that you were waiting for me," Dumbledore said. 

"I know. I had nothing to do with what happened to Mary nor did I have anything to do with what happened toward the beginning of term." Severus responded. 

"I know you were not involved, Severus. If I thought you were guilty I would have called you into my office some time ago." Severus sighed in relief. At least Dumbledore believed him. 

"I would have understood if you did think that though. It certainly looks suspicious as I was present just after it happened."

Dumbledore chuckled. "It does indeed. But I try to abide by an 'innocent until proven guilty' rule and there was no proof you were involved besides being present." 

Severus decided to change the topic. "I know we haven't seen eye to eye lately, but I need a favor. I was already coming here before Mary was discovered."

"What is it you need, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, now curious. 

"I need you to ask your Phoenix to deliver this message. The person in question is quite hard to track down and I know Phoenixes can locate somebody as easily as Angels can." 

"I could, but why not ask your Angel friend to do it?" Dumbledore asked in return. 

Severus sighed. He was going to have to tell Dumbledore everything. "She is missing. Abraxas, a Dark Angel who was thought to be long dead has recently returned to power. He kidnapped her and took her off to parts unknown after killing Lily's father a few weeks ago which you already know about. I think the woman I need this delivered to, Henrietta, can help me track them both down and get Amara back." 

"Curious. So it really was Abraxas then? Of course, I know the story but I thought those people who were killed previously were killed by a fanatic of his." 

"No it was really him. He was quite eager to boast about it too. I need to get this message to Henrietta, track down and stop Abraxas before any more lives are lost." 

"I will deliver your message. But I must ask, what are you going to do if she does manage to find him? He is quite powerful from what I do know about him and if he truly has returned to power, you won't be able to handle him alone even if you do possess the one weapon that can destroy him," Dumbledore inquired.

"I will do what I always do. I will figure it out. He killed the one person I considered to be a father and he's going to do the same to my friend. It's personal," Severus growled out. "While I'm at it, I will also ask Henrietta about what could possibly be attacking people in the school as soon as I can. We both know that whatever it is isn't human if neither of us could to reverse it." 

"That would be very helpful Severus. This isn't the first time this happened either. Around 30 or so years ago a girl was killed. I sincerely hope we can avoid that happening again." 

"I do too Sir. I am sure you noticed a pattern already and you know who else fits that pattern," Severus said, allowing Dumbledore to fill in the blanks on that one. 

Dumbledore nodded, knowing what Severus was getting at. The two quickly wrapped up their conversation and Severus handed Dumbledore the message he needed delivered. The Phoenix disappeared in a flash of fire and Severus was on his way. The next day, Dumbledore called him back and let him know that Henrietta had responded. She had sent what was obviously a two way communication mirror along with the instructions on how to use it. He only needed to tap it with his wand while thinking of her and she would respond. He slipped quietly into an empty classroom and did as she said. 

Henrietta's face appeared moments later. "I got your message. I offer my condolences on what happened to John Evans. He sounded like a wonderful person." 

"He was the best. He will be greatly missed. Do you know of anything that I can use to solve the other problem?" 

"There is a ritual that can be worked to track down an Angel. However, it is very complicated and rather difficult to perform. As it is a blood ritual you would need to use your own blood, an altar with the original Celestial's name carved into it calling upon his power, as well as a moonstone to help bind everything together. Also, the trickiest thing to get: something that belongs to the Angel you are trying to track down and it can only be done on either a solstice or an equinox like most things that are Celestial in origin," Henrietta said. 

Severus cursed. "Well that takes that out off the table for now. The winter solstice isn't far away, but I don't have enough time to gather everything. Even if I did I will be at the Evans house for the holiday and I can't exactly perform a blood ritual in a Muggle house, I would be in Azkaban in less than a day. So what do I do? Do I let my friend be tortured for another three months until the spring equinox comes around if I am lucky to be able to do it even by then?" He said, defeat and hopelessness in his voice. 

Henrietta saw the defeat written on his face. "I am sorry, Severus. Truly I am. There is nothing else that will work. Even if there was it would be a suicide run to do right now. If you just charge in there unprepared you would be dead before you even hit the ground. You need to plan and you need to figure out how to do this without getting yourself and Amara killed because you know he will kill her before you even reach the door if he so much as suspects you are coming. Even if she is being tortured this is her best chance for survival," she scolded. 

"You're right. I guess the only thing I can do is wait and plan. Now there is one other thing I need to ask you about," 

"Continue. I didn't send you the mirror for nothing after all. I am here if you need me."

"At Hogwarts there have been attacks. Two students have been mysteriously frozen. Neither myself nor Albus Dumbledore have been able to reverse the effects. When I tried to the first time this happened it made me physically sick and if I continued trying I may have been seriously harmed. Whatever is doing this is obviously not human."

Henrietta's face now turned serious. "Severus, I need you to listen to me very carefully. When you discovered the frozen students, had it happened recently?" 

"Yes. It had just happened both times," Severus was confused. Where was she going with this?

"Did you use your magic to see if you could hear anything suspicious?" 

"Yes. The only thing I heard the first time was something wet and heavy. It sounded like it was being dragged across the floor. There were no footsteps which I found strange. The second time I was unable to stop and listen as I was spotted right next to the victim immediately. Do you know what is doing it?" 

"Not for sure, but I have a very strong suspicion. Give me five minutes." Henrietta's face disappeared and the mirror returned to normal. Five minutes later as she said, she had returned. She had a grave look on her face. 

"I am guessing you found something?" 

"Yes. There is only one thing that matches what you described. It is a Basilisk." 

"A Basilisk? What in the world is that?" 

Henrietta sighed. "It is a giant snake. If someone looks into its eyes directly they will die. If looked indirectly they will be rendered petrified indefinitely until a cure of Mandrake Draught is given. Not even Angels can reverse the effect of the Basilisk's stare. They can reach sizes as long as 80 feet and have a highly venomous bite that is so potent you would be lucky to live three minutes after being bitten. Basilisk venom is also one of the few things that can kill Angels. " 

"Great. We have a snake roaming the halls of Hogwarts that can kill with a simple look, it could possibly be over 80 feet long, it can somehow go completely undetected and is likely hiding somewhere unreachable AND the woman I love fits the victim pattern perfectly and could very well be next. Could this day get any better?" Severus asked sarcastically. 

"Given the specificity of the targets it is not acting on its own. Someone is controlling it. When you find out where it is hiding, give me a call on the mirror and I'll let you know how you can stop it. Depending on the environment that it resides in, it may be difficult to do, so I won't know until I have that information first." Henrietta looked seriously at Severus. "If there are any more attacks that you happen to stumble across, listen carefully with your magic to pinpoint its approximate location and then run in the opposite direction. DO NOT go looking for it until you have an adequate way of getting rid of it" she said before ending the call. 

Severus walked out of the classroom to find Lily waiting for him. He was surprised to see her as she had been keeping her distance from everyone, including him. 

"I am sorry that I haven't been talking to you, Sev. I just needed time to come to terms with...you know," she said in a quiet voice. 

"I understand Lily. He was a father to me too," Severus responded. 

"Is it true about Mary? Remus is devastated." 

Severus looked down. "Yeah I am afraid so. I discovered her on my way to talk to Dumbledore. I got found by McGonagall immediately and she took me to see him. Dumbledore helped me deliver a message to Henrietta and we discussed ways to get Amara back. As sad as I am to say it, it cannot be done right now." 

"She doesn't deserve this..." 

"No. She does not," Severus interrupted. "Henrietta is going to be my go-to person for now. She gave me a mirror to contact her any time I needed. We also discussed what is going on at Hogwarts right now and we figured out what is behind the attacks." 

"What is it?" Lily asked. 

"A Basilisk. Whoever is controlling it is after Muggleborns. You are very much a target." 

Lily's eyes went wide at that information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear up any confusion here, Dumbledore considers Severus his equal and considers him to be a very trustworthy person and someone who can find things even he misses sometimes which is why, despite Severus still being in school, he is willing to work with him especially when lives are in danger and there is no other options. Also, yes Severus does know what is behind the attacks now but finding a solution to the problem will not be easy considering where it resides and there is only one way to get in there and Severus is not capable of it.


	9. Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know this is late and I really have no excuse for that. I allowed myself to get sidetracked and this is the result. I was not satisfied by how it turned out and I needed a couple extra days to fix it. I am still not 100% satisfied but it is better than it was. Also, I apologize if this chapter supposedly went live earlier, that was a misclick. I am still getting used to the changes in the button setup and I clicked post by accident.

Lily was stunned by what Severus had just told her.

"A Basilisk?!" she nearly shouted. "But that can't be, can it?"

"Henrietta was fairly certain. Everything we've seen so far matches only that," Severus responded. 

"But how could something like that be hiding in the school?" Lily asked. 

"I have no idea, Lily. A snake that could be over 80 feet in length with a killing stare should be easy to find."

"We need to figure out how to stop it before it kills someone," Lily said, stating the obvious.

"Nothing we can do right now until we find its hideout. For now, just be on your guard. I have no idea if it will come after you next but we can be certain you are on the target list."

"Thanks for reminding me of that fact, Severus." 

Later, Severus had noticed that Remus has not spoken to him since Mary was attacked. Whenever he tried to catch a glimpse of him he would not make eye contact. On the rare occasion that he did, Remus would just look at him coldly. This went on for a couple days before Severus finally confronted him about it by blocking his way. 

"Hey, Remus, what is wrong?" Severus asked. 

"Nothing, now let me pass," Remus said. 

"Something is going on. Why are you constantly glaring at me in the Great Hall? If you have something to say to me then say it," Severus demanded.

"Okay. One word: Mary." 

Severus scoffed. "You don't believe the nonsense rumors that I am behind that do you?" 

Remus' eyes hardened. "Of course not. But I want to know why you didn't fix her?" 

"Because I can't, Remus. I tried with the first person who fell victim to this. You would know that because I told both you and Lily about it."

"So you claim. You could have been lying." 

This sparked Severus' anger. "Why the hell would I lie about this?!" 

"I don't know, you've been acting pretty dark lately. Maybe you said you did it out of self preservation to keep the rumors down to a minimum." 

"Wow, Remus," Severus was seething now. The audacity of him! "I like Mary, you know that. Even if I could have fixed her I didn't get the chance to because McGonagall found me standing next to her body barely 10 seconds after I had a chance to react. Not like I can visit the Hospital Wing either, Madam Pomfrey has those two under lockdown." 

"Is that what you are going to say when Lily gets attacked?" 

Severus' control finally snapped when Remus brought Lily into this. He cocked a fist back and punched Remus square in the nose, sending the Werewolf to his knees. He felt Remus' nose crack and knew he had broken it. He was about to hit him again two people heard the ruckus and came running. One of them was Damon and the other was Professor McGonagall. 

"Hey break it up!" Damon shouted, grabbing Severus' arms. 

"Mr. Snape! 30 points from Slytherin and two weeks' detention for attacking another student," McGonagall said. 

"McGonagall-" Severus started, but she cut him off. "I don't care what he said. That is not an excuse for Muggle dueling in the corridor. Now move along! Mr. Lupin get yourself up to the Hospital Wing to get that nose fixed and Mr. Jones you can let go of Mr. Snape now," McGonagall said. 

Damon did as told and Remus walked away with Severus glaring into his back. Severus understood that Remus is hurting because of what happened to Mary, but how dare he bring Lily into this! Although if he were being honest to himself, he didn't know how much of that was actual anger or fear of Lily being harmed. He was already scared that something was going to happen to her especially with her being a target, but to have that thrown in his face made it real. Either way, it gave Remus no right to do what he did. Mary is still alive at least, he should be grateful for that. Lily's father, the man who may as well be his own, was gone and Amara was taken off to parts unknown and could possibly be dead as well, leaving an utter asshole in her place. Severus has it much worse, so much worse. He saw Damon looking at him curiously. 

"What caused you to react like that?" Damon asked. 

"The bastard thought I was lying about being unable to heal Mary and then brought Lily into it asking if I would do the same when she is the victim," Severus seethed. 

Damon blinked in surprise. "Wow. He is hurting I get that, but that was a little extreme." 

"You're telling me," Severus gave a humorless chuckle. 

"I have been meaning to ask you, do you know what is up with my sister? She's been acting really...weird," Damon said. 

Severus remembered the summer at Diagon Alley. "What do you mean?" he asked, seriously. 

"She's been acting withdrawn and she's constantly hiding away somewhere. It isn't like her at all. Do you know what is wrong?" he asked, noticing the tone.

"She's in possession of a cursed object. I remember Diagon Alley it was slipped to her." 

"You're just telling me this now?!" Damon said, obviously panicked. 

"I needed to be sure okay! Anyway, keep an eye on her and see if you can find a plain, black book. If you do, bring it to me and I'll dispose of it. I think I figured out who is behind the attacks as well." 

"No, Severus. My sister is not doing this. She is the sweetest girl you would ever meet." 

"You're right, she is not. But that cursed object might be forcing her to and she may not even be aware of it. Bring me the book, I will try to figure out how it operates and then dispose of it. I need to speak to Dumbledore about my findings as well. The creature behind the attacks is a Basilisk." 

Damon's eyes went wide. "No, that can't be. They've been outlawed for centuries." 

"This one is likely ancient. I need to speak to Dumbledore and let him know about what I found in regards to the culprit. Then we could come up with a solution on how to deal with it and where it could be hiding. I will omit the part about your sister for now. If I tell him that she is behind it and I don't have proof of the cursed object..." Severus didn't need to finish before Damon understood what he meant.

"Thank you for that. Just give me some time and I'll see what I can do about bringing that book to you." 

After Damon walked off, Severus began walking to Dumbledore's office. He said the password McGonagall had used to get him in there last time, hoping it was still the same. It was, and the gargoyle moved aside. Severus walked into the office, finding Dumbledore sitting at his desk. He got straight to the point.

"I figured out what is attacking the students, Sir. It is a Basilisk," Severus said. 

Surprise briefly showed on Dumbledore's face but it was gone fairly quickly. "You're certain of this?" Dumbledore asked gravely. 

"Yes. I consulted Henrietta and she looked into the matter for me. It is the only possibility." 

"Well then we must make preparations to keep the others safe. We also need to figure out where it is located and how to get rid of it." 

"It's hideout, I have no clue. As for killing, I have the Emerald Dagger. An effective weapon, yes. But ideal against an 80 foot snake? Probably not. It's skin is also essentially magic proof you would have to aim for soft tissue such as its mouth or eyes. I have no idea if the Emerald Dagger could cut through its skin, nor do I wish to find out the hard way." 

"Quite understandable. Right now, the only thing to do is to make everyone aware I am afraid and just keep searching for any clues." 

After that conversation concluded, Severus left the office. He met up with Lily shortly after. 

"Hey, I heard about what happened between you and Remus." she said. 

"He's just being an idiot," Severus responded. 

"I think so too. I told him that until he straightens himself out he can stay away from me as well." 

She turned to him and he planted a kiss on her lips. "Let's just finish up our day and we'll wait for Remus to quit being an idiot," she said. 

"I can agree to that." 

"Good." 

Meanwhile in parts unknown, Amara was not doing so well. She was badly beaten and had been slashed repeatedly on varying parts of her body. Abraxas' frustration was increasing immensely. No matter what he did to her, she just would not give in. Beating, slashing, cursing, none of it is working. His other enemies cracked almost instantly, but he had been at this several days now and she still held strong. 

"You are quite resilient, I will give you that," Abraxas said. 

"You can do whatever you want to me, I will never tell you anything. I was trained since birth to be leader of the Angels. With that comes building resilience just in case someone like you tries to torture information out of me," Amara said. 

"Oh well, just give it time. Sooner or later you won't be able to handle it anymore and you'll crack. Maybe physical torture isn't the key but mental torture will do it instead." 

"What mental torture do you think would make me give in to you?" 

"I could do what I am doing to you to the one I know you desire for. You may be able to take anything, but could you watch it happen to Severus?" 

"Yes I could. Because he would never want me to tell you anything no matter what you do to him in front of me. So go ahead. It won't work." 

"We'll just see about that," Abraxas said. He slashed Amara once more, relishing in her scream of pain before walking out. 

Maybe it was time to change tactics. Forget about the Evans family for now. He knows Severus will be doing everything he can to get Amara back. Abraxas would make it easy for him and leave the front door wide open. Severus walks in and essentially delivers himself right where Abraxas wants him. With Severus in his 'care' he would make Amara give him what he wanted. She has a strong will, but she also has the weakness of loving Severus. Despite what she says he seriously doubts she can take witnessing what Abraxas would do to her lover. And he would make it painful, long and painful. This brat has been a thorn in his side for far too long. Besides, the Evans family are just Muggles. No threat to him whatsoever. This new plan will eliminate his two greatest threats. It was time to put it in motion, starting with the tracking ritual.


	10. Obtaining Books and Finding Chambers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it has been a while and this is a bit short. But, good news is that there will be updates every three days so look forward to that.

Severus was currently busy tracking the whereabouts of Verlaine Jones. She has been his prime suspect for quite some time now. Her strange behavior, odd disappearances and odd reactions to everything that has been going on. It is as if she is just oblivious. The others may not have picked up on it, but Severus certainly has. He is staying far enough away to not be noticed, but close enough to be able to tell what she is doing. Her behavior is very bizarre indeed. As if she is possessed by another entity that has taken control of her. He has followed her to the second floor girls' bathroom. What purpose does she have going there? Severus cursed. It was getting close to curfew and he couldn't afford getting caught. He was in enough trouble as it is. He knew nobody would believe him if he told them what he was doing and it would make things more complicated. However, this was more important. While he doesn't care about the majority of people in this school, they don't deserve to die unless they're future Death Eaters. Severus would gladly incinerate them himself. 

As he reached the second floor, Verlaine turned around. She did not see him as he quickly ducked behind a pillar, but he saw her eyes. They were glazed over and staring blankly. This confirms possession. As she turned back around and headed through the door to the bathroom, Severus broke out into a sprint to catch her. She was hissing at the sinks that stood in the middle of the room. She stopped suddenly as she heard the door open. She did not have time to react as Severus stunned her with a wave of his hand. The red light struck her in the middle of her chest and she went down in a heap. Severus quickly searched her belongings and found exactly what he was looking for. He thought the black book was foul at the beginning of the year. But holding it in his hands right here and right now made him feel nauseated. He laid the book on the floor and pulled out the Emerald Dagger. As he prepared to drive it down into the abomination, he did not notice Verlaine getting up right behind him and pulling out her wand. As he prepared to drive it down into the abomination, he felt a wave of pain hit him. He went down in surprise for a second, scraping his hand on the floor. This was obviously the Cruciatus curse, but it was strangely mild. The last time Severus was hit with this curse he passed out. But now, he simply shrugged it off. 

"How did you throw it off?" Verlaine demanded, her voice hollow and distorted. 

"Call it a miracle," Severus stated and he advanced. 

Verlaine attempted to cast another curse but Severus slashed at her with the Emerald Dagger, catching her in the arm. She yelled out in pain and dropped to the ground. He quickly inspected the wound and it wasn't deep enough to do any major damage but the cut also cannot he healed magically. He tore off a piece of his clothing and bound it tightly around her arm. She opened her eyes again soon after, but they were clear. Severus had broken the possession. 

"Where am I? What's going on?" Verlaine asked. 

"Shh, it's okay. Take it easy," Severus said.

"How did I get here? Last thing I remember I was in the common room." 

"I know. You were in possession of a cursed object that had taken control of you but I stopped it." 

It was then that Verlaine noticed her arm was wrapped up. "What happened?" she asked. 

"I have a special weapon that I had to use to break the thing's hold on you. Unfortunately, that cut can't be healed magically as it was designed to resist all types of magic. It isn't very deep but it might be a bit of a nuisance until it heals," Severus informed her. 

After instructing her to go the hospital wing, Severus headed back to the common room as it was now past curfew. As he sat in his dormitory, he inspected the book a little bit more. As disgusting as this thing was, it intrigued him especially now. He had gotten a drop of blood on it earlier when he hit the floor. It had completely vanished, however. Severus hid the book in his heavily warded trunk, deciding not to destroy it here in the dormitory as he had no idea what it would do. Little did he know, however, that exposing his blood to this object would have some unforeseen consequences. 

The next morning, Severus woke up. He found Verlaine sitting in the common room. She was not yet back to her cheery self, but she was getting better. Her arm was now wrapped in an actual bandage rather than a piece of clothing. He felt guilty for permanently scarring her, but he couldn't think of another way to break the possession. Stunning her had obviously not worked and he didn't want to send any more curses at her in fear of hurting her even worse than he already had. The Emerald Dagger had been his only option, he told himself repeatedly. It didn't make him feel better though. Damon pulled him aside to snap him out of it. 

"Hey, I know what you're doing over there. I'm not angry with you and neither is she. You saved her and she is thankful for it," Damon said. 

"But she will have that scar forever, Damon. All because I hadn't acted sooner. I knew she had a cursed object and I did nothing until it was too late. Now, not only are people petrified in the hospital wing, a young girl is permanently scarred," Severus responded. 

"You didn't hurt her badly, Severus. It wasn't very deep. A small scar on her arm is a very low price to pay given the circumstances. The people in the hospital wing will be just fine as soon as they have the means to fix whatever happened to them," Damon said, irritated. "Stop beating yourself up over it. You had no idea this was going to happen." 

Severus nodded and Damon walked off. 

* * *

Lily had just woken up. She wondered what Severus was up to. He said he had some business to take care of, but wouldn't provide any details aside from that. She hoped he was okay, whatever he was doing. She woke up much later than she usually did. Everyone was already gone. Normally she was the first one up. She walked down the corridor to the Great Hall for breakfast. However, she was suddenly confronted by a young man she has never seen before. He was holding a small, black book. Something seemed very off about him, but she couldn't place it. 

"Lily Evans," the young man said. 

"Yeah that's me. If you don't mind, I need to get to breakfast," Lily responded. 

"Oh, you won't be going anywhere," the young man smiled menacingly. 

Lily instantly drew her wand. However, before she could attack, the young man waved his hand and she was thrown back. Her wand slid away and the young man summoned it. Lily went wide-eyed. Only one person had the ability to do what this young man just did and that was her Severus. This was definitely not him, however. 

"Surprised Mudblood? Thanks to your little boyfriend I have a few new tricks. I have power I never thought possible and it feels amazing!" 

The young man looked down at Lily. "I'll let you know who I am. I am none other than Lord Voldemort. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet. I have use for you." Voldemort waved his hand and the last thing Lily saw was a flash of red. 

Tom Riddle a.k.a Voldemort smiled. He took out a quill and some parchment and wrote a note that he made sure would find its way into Severus' hands. He then took Lily and made sure nobody was around before making his way to the Chamber of Secrets. It was time to get rid of this detestable Mudblood and the Nephilim. He was surprised to find out what Severus Snape was. A single drop of his blood was able to grant him access to Severus' entire memory. He had his full life story within a matter of moments as well as a huge surge of power that allowed him to manifest months earlier than he had anticipated. It also granted him new abilities he had always dreamed of having. They're not nearly as powerful as Severus' but he could rectify that in the future. He finally reached the Chamber of Secrets with the Mudblood and now all he had to do was wait for Severus to come save this detestable creature as he knew he would. 

* * *

Severus was already in the Great Hall. Lily had not come down yet. She probably just slept in. No need to be alarmed just yet. However, there was a slight feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong. 

"Hey, Severus?" a female voice asked, uncertain. 

"What?" Severus said. 

"Some guy asked me to give you this. I have no idea what it is, but he said it was important. Real cagey fellow," the girl said. 

"Thanks," Severus responded and the girl walked off to sit down at her own spot. 

Severus opened the piece of parchment. What he saw made his heart drop. 

_You know where I am. Come and get her or she dies. The door is open. You have one hour. _

_LV_

Severus immediately got up and ran out the door, shocking everyone in the hall at his sudden behavior change. 


	11. The Great Serpent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight delay, I know, but I didn't actually create a new chapter I just posted it over the AN so I had some issues resulting from that. It has been fixed now though.

Severus bolted to the second floor bathroom where he knew the 'door' was. He had called for Balthazar who didn't show up. Deciding to go for it anyways, he dropped into the pipe that was revealed by the parted sinks. The entire thing felt like one long slide that kept going on forever. Before too long, however, the pipe leveled out and Severus was sprawled out onto the floor. Dozens, if not hundreds of small animal skeletons littered the place. Severus got up and looked ahead. In the distance, he could see another open door but not what was beyond it. Approaching the door, Severus stepped through it and climbed down the ladder. He found himself in a dim corridor. Gigantic serpent pillars stretched from floor to ceiling on both sides. At the very end stood the statue of Salazar Slytherin. It was massive, probably at least 30 or 40 feet in height. Severus looked to the floor and saw Lily sprawled out in front of it. He quickly ran to her and picked her up. He shook her trying to wake her up. 

"She won't wake," a voice called. Severus immediately recognized who it was. 

"What have you done to her?" Severus demanded. 

"Relax, she's still alive. For now," Tom said. 

"What the hell do you want?" 

Tom hesitated, but decided to talk after a few seconds. "What I've always wanted of course. To purge the world of the unworthy. After I've dealt with you of course. I got the entire life story thanks to a little drop of blood." 

Severus gaped in horror as he realized what happened. He scraped his hand when he freed Verlaine from possession and bled on the book as he grabbed it. The blood must have given Tom a portion of his power. 

"Yes, Severus. What would have taken a few more months happened in a matter of seconds thanks to you. Celestial magic is a wonderful thing isn't it? It is power I have only begun to taste and yet you wield it daily," Tom said, grinning sadistically. 

"Yeah, I do. So what? You won't be able to do anything with it you know. Once I destroy the source of your power, you'll be gone for good." 

"We'll see about that one, Severus. But first, you'll have to deal with my pet." 

Giving another sadistic grin, Tom turned to the statue. He spoke, or rather hissed at it. The stone began grinding as the mouth slowly opened. Severus did not stick around to see what would emerge and instantly turned around, snapping his eyes shut. Tom hissed at the creature again. Severus began to run blindly with Tom laughing maniacally. However, Severus slammed right into one of the stone pillars. He could hear the creature's massive body sliding across the wet floor as it closed in on him. Realizing he has nowhere to go, Severus reached for the Emerald Dagger and waited for fangs to pierce his body. If this thing was going to kill him, he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take it with him. However, before anything happened a voice shouted something indistinct and a bright light instantly filled the chamber. The Basilisk had retreated and was shrieking in what could only be described as excruciating pain. Severus cracked his eyes open and saw Balthazar standing in front of him. 

"Got yourself into a sticky situation have you?" Balthazar asked, clearly amused. 

"Now's not the time," Severus snapped. 

He looked at the Basilisk that was still thrashing about. Tom was shouting furiously at the sight of his injured pet. However, before Severus could react the creature turned and he was staring right at its face. Said face was smoking but undamaged. The damage was its eyes. They were once bright and bulbous, but now only black craters remained. Balthazar had burned them right out of the creature's skull. 

Severus looked to Balthazar. "Go back to the surface. Make sure nothing else is going on up there that I don't know about. I need to take care of this." 

Balthazar looked unsure. Severus just snapped at him to go, to which he did without further question. 

Severus turned to the Basilisk and shouted to get its attention. The creature reared back and prepped a lunge attack. Severus raised the Emerald Dagger, but he was a bit too slow. He needed to get to a more open area, this corridor had too many obstacles. He ran past the creature and back into the area with Slytherin's statue. Tom merely watched with interest as the Basilisk tracked Severus' footsteps through the water. This time, Severus was ready as the Basilisk raised its head above him. He plunged the dagger straight into the beast's body. It pierced the tough, magic proof skin like it was nothing. However, while it roared in pain, it recovered very quickly and was right back on the attack. Severus was astonished as nothing had survived it before. He did not have much time to think as the creature lunged once more. This time, Severus drove the dagger upwards into the beast's jaw. As he pulled the dagger out, he stabbed it once, twice, three times in the side of its head for good measure. The creature hit the floor loudly and was dead in mere seconds. Severus looked to Tom, who had a horrified look on his face. 

"How..." Tom started. 

"Your creature wasn't as tough as you thought," Severus responded. 

Severus walked over to the book that was the source of Tom's power. He picked it up. 

"What are you doing?" Tom asked, sounding wary. 

Severus raised the Emerald Dagger. "Stop. NO!" Tom shouted. 

It was too late for him, however. Severus drove the dagger down into the book. As the blade pierced the pages, black ink began to flow freely from them and Tom let out a shriek. A green light erupted from a hole that had formed in his chest. Severus stabbed the other side of the book next, causing Tom to further disintegrate. Next, Severus closed the book and stabbed it one final time, this time straight through the front. This caused Tom to finally explode in a whirl of green light. As Severus saw Lily begin to stir he quickly ran over to her, dropping the Emerald Dagger in the process. 

"Lily..." Severus started. 

"Sev, what...where are we?" Lily asked, looking around. 

"Doesn't matter, all that matters is that you're safe. Tom is gone and so is the Basilisk." 

Lily looked over to the massive serpent's body. "You killed it?" she asked, wide-eyed. 

"With some help from Balthazar, yes. Now come on let's get out of this hell hole." 

Severus picked up the destroyed book and the Emerald Dagger. He and Lily began walking down the corridor and he filled her in on everything that happened as they walked. They climbed back up the ladder and went through the door. As they came to the pipe, however, Lily spoke up. 

"If you sent Balthazar away, how are we going to get out? We can't climb this," Lily said. 

"I have an idea. I have never tried it before, but I think I can manage," Severus responded. 

"What are you planning on doing?" 

"Angels can travel in a specific way different from apparition and portkey. Since them and I are one in the same in terms of magic, there's a high possibility I can do it too. Now, hold on tight." Lily did as told. 

Severus envisioned the bathroom waiting above. Once he had a clear picture of it, he willed his magic to take him there. He felt it respond and a rush of wind indicated said response. He opened his eyes and both he and Lily were in the bathroom next to the still open sinks that started to slide back into place. Balthazar was standing off to the right side of the room. 

"You finally figured out how to travel like we do," Balthazar observed. 

"I did. Thank you for your help down there. Also, take this and examine it. I have a feeling it is no ordinary cursed object. I don't know what good it will do since I destroyed it, but it can't hurt to try," Severus said, handing the book to him. 

Balthazar took the book and agreed to take a look at it. 

The next few days things were finally starting to get back to normal. Severus filled Dumbledore in on everything and while he was upset Severus decided to do this alone, he also understood the situation and let him go without too much hassle. Lily was still her usual happy self. She didn't let the incident get to her too much. After all, Tom hadn't really done much to her, just knocked her out once she was down in the chamber. It wasn't the first time someone threatened to kill her so she was more or less used to it by now. She was sitting by Severus when Balthazar signaled them both to follow him. He led them to the Room of Requirement. 

"What is this about?" Lily asked curiously. 

"A very disturbing find you've made, Severus. You were right. This is no ordinary cursed object. What you just stumbled upon is a Horcrux," Balthazar said angrily. 

"I have no idea what that is," Severus said. 

"It's better you don't know but you need to anyways. A Horcrux is a soul fragment encased within an object. That bastard Tom Riddle has split his soul in an attempt to gain immortality. To sear the soul with Dark Magic is the most vile act of nature one can commit and we must find and destroy the others if there are more." 

"But if a Horcrux is such a vile thing then why isn't the act of burning the soul to cast magic?" Lily asked. 

"Who gave you instructions on how to do that?" Balthazar asked. 

Severus stepped in. "Not her. Me. Someone who knows how to do that gave me a how to manual." 

"The act of a Horcrux cannot be undone because it permanently scars the soul once it is removed from the body. However, the act you're talking about just uses its energy which replenishes itself overtime. However, if used in abundance before the energy can be restored the soul will start to crack and eventually go up in smoke. So only use it in emergency situations if you must resort to that," Balthazar explained. 

As Lily and Severus concluded their conversation with Balthazar, they got up to leave but he called them back. 

"Before you go, there is one more thing I have that might interest you." 

"Like what? No offense but we're tired," Severus responded. 

"Like the location of Abraxas and Amara," Balthazar said, smiling. 

Severus perked up at that. "You found them?" 

"We have a pretty good guess, We're putting plans together to get her back. So if you want in on that, let me know." Balthazar said, handing Severus a parchment piece with coordinates written on it. He then disappeared.


	12. Planning a Suicidal Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to yet another chapter. This time I actually managed to get it uploaded when I said I would at least in my timezone. Anyway forget all that and let's get right to it.

Severus and Lily were frozen. Balthazar had found Amara's location? Abraxas would also be there? This could be an opportunity to save Amara and take Abraxas out in one move. The thought of killing that bastard made Severus feel excited, something Lily must have noticed because she had an apprehensive look on her face. 

"I know what you're thinking Sev. You can't," she said. 

"Yeah, why not?" Severus asked. 

"Because you won't be able to take him on. Only one thing can destroy him and if we lose it we're in serious trouble," Lily responded. 

"It won't just be me. Balthazar will be there and so will many others." 

"Listen to yourself, Severus! This is a suicide mission and you know it!" 

"Yeah and what if it is?!" Severus spat, outraged. "Amara is our friend Lily! You're going to stand there and suggest we do nothing to bring her back after everything she's done for us? It is my fault she is in this mess to begin with. I could have killed Abraxas last summer. I knew he was out there and if I was smart enough to keep the dagger with me I could have taken him down. Now he's out there, he's regained his strength and he has Amara. I have to be the one to make this right." 

"No, you don't have to make this right we do! We're in this together, Sev! We need to be smart. If we screw this up Abraxas kills us and likely kills Amara as well and then it will have been for nothing. Use your head! He wouldn't reveal his location so easily without an ulterior motive, he wants us to go to him. We need to plan this and plan it very carefully. Charging in half cocked will only end badly for us." 

"Okay we sit on it for now. Tomorrow we call Balthazar back and all of us will discuss our next move." 

The next day they met back up in the Room of Requirement. Some of their classmates were curious as to why they were spending so much time there all of a sudden but they shrugged off all the questions. They sat in silence waiting for Balthazar. Severus had a determined look on his face while Lily was still wary. She was afraid that this was going to go horribly wrong as almost everything does in some way lately. Balthazar had arrived about 30 minutes later. 

"Sorry I'm late. I was busy getting the others together," he said. 

"You do realize this is a trap right?" Lily asked. 

"Oh I'm well aware. Abraxas had the place under lock and key until we were suddenly able to detect his signature and the signature of Amara. He hasn't been sloppy so far and he wouldn't mess up now," Balthazar responded. 

"But what's the plan? We are going to die if we don't have one," Severus said. 

"Not all of us will. There's going to be 30 of us, one of him. He doesn't have any support within the Angels as all of the loathe him especially after he abducted one of the most beloved leaders we've ever had. We also have two things at our disposal that can be used to destroy him," Balthazar said. 

Lily looked confused at that. "Two things? We only have the Emerald Dagger." 

It was Severus who answered. "No, Lily. Basilisk venom is capable of killing Angels. Henrietta told me so." 

"That's right. While you were doing whatever you were doing after I left last night I revisited that chamber below the school and harvested the serpent's venom," Balthazar said, pulling out what looked to be a weapon made entirely of bone. "It's made from the Basilisk's skeleton." 

Lily picked up the bone dagger, admiring it. "Are we certain this is going to work even on Abraxas? We know he's no ordinary Angel." 

"Yes, absolutely. The venom is so destructive that nothing magical can survive it living or inanimate. You should hang onto that and only use it on Abraxas because it will burn away after one use," Balthazar answered.

"Okay that raises our odds at least somewhat. Are any others going to have them?" Severus asked. 

"Yes, many of them will. I made several of these weapons." 

"When will everyone be ready?" 

"In two days' time. You should start preparing as well. Whether you want to take Lily with you or not is your call but be ready by then," with that Balthazar took his exit. 

The next two days were filled with many different things. Life at Hogwarts in general was as boring and tedious as ever. However, they were also apprehensive in Lily's case and exciting in Severus' case. Severus was going to get Amara back and hopefully stop Abraxas before he does too much damage. He and Lily had a rather heated argument and she was still rather pissed off. She wanted to come with him and he all but threatened to stun her and tie her up if she tried. So she decided she would remain behind but promised that if he didn't come back in one piece he better hope he is dead because he'll be wishing as much by the time she is done with him. If it weren't for the fact that he knew she was 100% serious he would have laughed at that. After all, Lily Evans was not one to make threats and not live up to them. 

Finally the day had arrived. Lily was still upset that Severus was not letting her come with, but he explained to her once again that she would be ousted instantly due to her being the weak link of the group. This she could not deny no matter how hard she tried. Angels were the most powerful magical beings to exist and they shared their magic with Severus. While Lily is an extraordinarily powerful witch especially for her age even at her best she would be barely a fraction of Abraxas' power even when he was at his weakest. At full power, however, he could incapacitate and kill her with barely a thought. The only reason he hadn't so far is because he likes to mess with the minds of his victims first, letting them know he has complete control over them before killing them. Balthazar assured her that this would eventually be his downfall, however, and she couldn't help but agree. For all his power he is way too arrogant and his arrogance will get him killed. Before Severus left, Lily gave him a kiss and hugged him as tight as she could before reminding him of the threat/promise she made two days before. 

Severus and Balthazar arrived at the Angel's main living area. Severus had been to this place before but definitely not in here. Balthazar led him to a table that had around 30 or so Angels sitting in it waiting for him. 

"Everyone's here now. Good," Balthazar started. "Here is the plan. We go to Abraxas' hideout, all 32 of us. Most of us will go inside while a few will remain outside to make sure any of Abraxas' allies, what few he may have, don't decide to sneak in behind us. Most of us have bone daggers made from Basilisk remains and the creature's venom. Any questions before we get going?" 

Nobody spoke up so Balthazar said one last thing before dismissing everybody. "I will say this. While Abraxas may only be one being, he is immensely powerful. Do not underestimate him. I won't lie, our odds do not look good. I do not expect all of us to make it back but no matter what happens we will have our leader back with us." 

Balthazar, Severus and the other 30 Angels had appeared right outside Abraxas' hideout. The eight Angels who would be remaining outside took their positions while Balthazar, Severus and the others prepared to go into what would be the last living moments for many of them. 

"Ready, Severus?" Balthazar asked him. 

"As ready as I will be," Severus said with a sigh. With that, they walked inside and prepared to face whatever was waiting for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bone daggers were originally used by Angels as weapons but because of their often unstable creation they had a tendency to burn away after they were used especially if they had something like Basilisk venom to make them more lethal. This is how Balthazar was able to create several of them in such a short amount of time because it has been done many times in the past.


	13. Operation: Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys a late one because I actually began putting together the final story in this series. I know I said I wasn't going to for a while but I take that back as my state is now on lockdown and I have nothing better to do with my time. So that's where I've been and that is why this is late. You can expect that story to start once I have some decent progress on it.

Severus, Balthazar and the other Angels with them walked inside and began to search the hideout for Abraxas, Amara and anyone else he may be holding here. The place was like a maze with many different rooms and hallways. They were on alert at all times, not knowing what to expect. After clearing the entire top floor, they did not find anything at all, not even Abraxas. The place looked abandoned. 

"I have a very bad feeling about this..." one of the Angels stated. 

"Yeah...Abraxas isn't here," another said. 

"Of course he's here. He's just watching and waiting," Severus snapped. 

"Guys, enough. Focus on the task at hand. Search the basement and find our leader. Abraxas we can deal with later if he's not here," Balthazar said. 

As they finally found the door that led to the basement stairwell they walked inside and down the stairs. The air instantly became colder and much more ominous. This is definitely where Abraxas did his most twisted stuff. The door was well hidden too and if someone accidentally stumbled upon this place they never would have found it if they didn't already know to look for it. The thought made Severus shiver. Abraxas was smarter than they gave him credit for perhaps. There was no sign of any traps though, it looked as abandoned as the upstairs did. They began their search through the rooms that were slightly less complex in design than the upper level. They were all empty and there was no sign anyone was ever in them. However, at the very back there was one door that was heavily reinforced. This had to be where Amara was being held. 

"This is it," Severus said. 

"Okay, back up," Balthazar said, moving into position. He waved his hand in a pattern and the door was suddenly blown off its hinges, the locks and chains shattering like glass and falling to the floor. 

Amara was inside the room as expected. However, she was in a very pitiful state and that is putting it mildly. There were numerous chains with ancient symbols etched into them wrapped around her midsection. Her hands and feet were shackled to the metal chair she was being held in. She had numerous cuts, bruises, burns and deep lacerations all over her body and it looks as if her magic had given out long ago as most of these wounds were clearly not fresh, but unable to heal. Severus wasted no time and walked up to her. 

"Amara..." he whispered. "Amara, hey. Can you hear me," he continued softly. She opened her eyes as much as she could manage but it seemed like she lacked the energy to do so entirely. 

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" he said once more. He broke as many of the chains as he could with his magic and those he couldn't he swiped with the Emerald Dagger, breaking the binding spells on them and rendering them useless. Once Amara was free, she fell into him and wrapped her arms around him as much as she could. 

"You came for me..." she whispered, her voice hoarse. 

"You knew I would," Severus said but didn't hug her back because of her injuries. 

"We need to get her out of here, right now. If she doesn't get help soon she might not make it," he said, turning to Balthazar. 

Balthazar nodded and gathered Amara up in his arms. He carried her down the hall and up the stairs out of the basement with the other Angels following. Severus did not follow them further than that though, something Balthazar did not realize. Instead, Severus stood in the doorway. 

"Alright, Abraxas. Come and get me you bastard," Severus growled. 

* * *

Lily was waiting outside, impatient. Severus was in there and she had no idea if he or the others were okay. They should have been back by now. The other Angels told her not to worry and that if something had gone wrong they would know. This did little to reassure her, however. Before too long had passed, Balthazar walked out with a badly injured Amara in his arms. Lily knew she would be in bad shape but the sight of her friend in this state brought tears to her eyes. She looked around but did not see Severus among the Angels who had walked out. 

"Where's Severus?" she asked. 

Balthazar looked around. "He should have been right behind us." 

Both of them shared a look of alarm. As they rushed back toward the building the door slammed shut and was warded. Abraxas had returned and Severus was alone. 

* * *

Severus was waiting for Abraxas to show up. It was time for this son of a bitch to pay for what he had done. He would die for real, no comebacks this time. Severus felt a rush of wind and heard the front door slam shut and knew Abraxas arrived at last. Severus turned to face him. 

"Hello there, Severus. I've been expecting you," Abraxas said with his traditional smirk. 

Severus wasted no time talking and launched a ball of energy at his opponent. Abraxas staggered back and had a brief look of surprise on his face before regaining his composure. He sent his own ball of energy back at Severus, who was launched into the air and smacked right into one of the open steel doors with enough force to dent it. 

"You think you can match me, _boy_?" he said, sneering. "That was barely a fraction of my power. Yours is merely a crutch, nothing more." 

Severus stood back up, warily. He tried to attack, but Abraxas threw him back down with another ball of energy. He definitely felt something break this time as he hit the door once again. 

Abraxas approached him, pulled out his blade and slashed him across the left side of his face with it. Severus cried out in pain as he felt the cold metal slice into his flesh. 

"I could do this all day. Because you're powerless and all alone. You really think a mere Nephilim such as yourself is capable of taking me on just because you beat a bunch of school kids, you're dreaming." 

Abraxas stabbed Severus non fatally through his side. His vision was starting to get spotty as blood was pouring out of his left cheek and now his side. Clearly Abraxas wanted to watch him bleed out slowly instead of just killing him right away. As he pulled the blade out, he spat more taunts. 

"And when I'm done with you, I'm going to move on to that pretty little redhead of yours. It will be such a delight listening to her scream as I slice her flesh open over and over again. Amara never broke, not even once. But will Lily Evans be able to boast the same feat? I guess I'll find out soon enough. Goodbye, Severus. Shame I have to do away with you, but there comes a time when a relationship has just...run its course and you've been a thorn in my side for far too long." 

As Abraxas raised his blade to deliver the killing blow, Severus managed to get the Emerald Dagger into his hand. He suddenly jumped up, ignoring all of his injuries as he felt the familiar feeling of blinding rage fill him. Abraxas paused for a moment, shocked that Severus could even stand after the beating and blood loss he had just endured, much less raise a weapon against him. He was much too slow to react. Had it just been his arm he would have shrugged it off with great difficulty, but the blade of his own creation went straight through the arm and into his right side. This was enough to get Abraxas to the ground and as the blade was pulled out, he put a hand to the wound, the blood was already beginning to run through his fingers. 

"You never learn, Abraxas," Severus said, scathingly. "Never threaten Lily in front of me. Now do me a favor and DIE." He raised the blade to strike once more, driving it downward toward the Dark Angel's chest. However, he only managed to get a slash in because Abraxas had seen it coming and attempted to evade but not completely successful. He yelled out again as he transported himself to safety. Severus felt the rage and adrenaline leave him and he fell back to the ground, blackness taking him over as he succumbed to the severity of his injuries. 

* * *

Lily and Balthazar were working on breaking the warding keeping the door closed. A couple minutes later, it suddenly vanished and the door opened on its own. They rushed inside and found Severus near the basement door. He was lying in his own blood and the Emerald Dagger laid next to him and it had blood on it as well. Balthazar quickly got to work on healing Severus' injuries, starting with the most severe. It took quite a while because the internal damage was massive. Nothing could be done about the blood loss, however. It wasn't fatal, but he would be feeling very tired for the next few days at the very least and his magic severely limited. Lily sobbed in relief once Balthazar told her that Severus would live. Balthazar picked up the Emerald Dagger and examined it. 

"This isn't his," Balthazar said. "Looks like he managed to get Abraxas with it at least once. That will leave lasting damage for sure. Wounds caused by this cannot be healed by magic. He would have to let it heal the Muggle way which will certainly take time," Balthazar said. 

Severus woke up at that moment. He looked around and saw Balthazar and Lily. 

"Did I get the bastard?" 

"I'm afraid not. It does look like you wounded him though," Balthazar answered. 

"Goddamnit!" Severus exclaimed. 

"Hey, take it easy. Even though I healed your injuries, you are still borderline critical. You suffered major blood loss. I am going to get the two of you back to Hogwarts and you need to be on bed rest for at least four or five days and absolutely no using magic of any kind," Balthazar said. 

Severus did not argue about that for once. He knew Abraxas had really done a number on him. He was a fool thinking that he could take him on his own. He did manage to wound him with the Emerald Dagger though so that has to count for something. Balthazar said he would be getting them back to Hogwarts and explained that he would be sending Amara to stay with him and Lily until she recovers. She would be safer there than anywhere else as it is the last place Abraxas would think to look for her, not that he would be in any condition to do that anyway due to his injuries. 

Once at Hogwarts, Severus immediately went to the Hospital Wing where he would be staying until the holidays. He gave the Emerald Dagger to Lily so she could hold onto it for him while he was in recovery. Once Madam Pomfrey saw his condition, to say that she was in shock would be a total understatement. He laid down and decided to let sleep claim him. He had no idea when he would wake up next, but he honestly couldn't care. He was alive and he was grateful for that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you probably wanted to see Abraxas die in this chapter, but no dice there. Severus is nowhere near powerful enough to take him in a one on one magical fight. The only way he would be able to kill him is to somehow supercharge his magic which is a very dangerous thing to attempt, or to use the Emerald Dagger which Abraxas would have been on the lookout for so he had to trick him in order to use it.


	14. Shocks and Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was such a huge pain. Not only did I have to rewrite it because I did a bad job with this one, I have been feeling very sluggish and worn out lately so editing these to fix the formatting for the Archive is also becoming a huge grind. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Abraxas had managed to get away from what would have been his certain death. He didn't think Severus would have brought the Emerald Dagger with him due to the knowledge that he is seeking it out. He had gotten too close and found himself on the receiving end of his own creation once again. If not for Severus' weakened state, that strike most definitely would have been a killing strike.

Abraxas had transported himself to safety, but where he landed he had no idea. He only knew that he was in the middle of the woods somewhere. He clutched his working hand to his injured side that was still oozing blood. He coughed and fell to his knees, groaning as he tore off part of his cloak to bind the wound. He could not heal it nor would his magic be able to do so for him thanks to the nature of the Emerald Dagger. He fell to the ground completely as blackness started overtaking his vision. His last conscious thought was that Severus had gotten one up on him for a second time.

He woke up some time later to the sounds of screaming and a loud explosion. He decided to go investigate to see just what was going on. Once he got to the site, he saw a house burning and a group of masked individuals surrounding and torturing a small family. They were definitely magical, but they were too outnumbered to fight back. Abraxas decided to even those odds. He snuck up on one of the masked people and snapped his neck as if it were nothing. The other people, now identified as Voldemort's Death Eaters, turned their attention to him. One of them fired a Killing Curse at him that did absolutely nothing.

"I don't normally waste my time killing humans, but you filthy dogs can be an exception," Abraxas snarled, charging the Death Eater who attacked him. He threw him to the ground and stomped on his chest, killing him instantly.

Another Death Eater tried attacking, but to no avail. Abraxas rushed and killed him too. The others tried to run away, but panicked when their emergency portkeys did not activate.

"Aw, what's the matter dogs? Portkey not working?" Abraxas smiled. He dispatched the remaining Death Eaters that were trying to flee. They were a minor annoyance at worst. Not even the weakest of Angels would have a hard time taking care of these filthy animals. Most of them had mediocre magical skills at best and were nowhere near powerful enough to cast magic capable of harming Angels.

Abraxas looked toward the family who were terrified. He wouldn't kill them. After all, killing humans is something that is beneath him. They are of no threat to him and unlike those filthy harlots who dare call themselves natural beings, humans actually deserve to wield magic. They have accomplished many great things with it after all. The only ones he would be fine with killing are the Death Eaters and Severus Snape of course. With that in mind, Abraxas disappeared to tend to his injuries that he aggravated even further by doing all that fighting.

* * *

Severus had awoken two days after his fight with Abraxas. He was still feeling somewhat drained, but he definitely felt better than he did that first night. Madam Pomfrey saw he was awake and went to tend to him. She cast a number of spells and diagnostics. She muttered something under her breath when one of the results apparently showed something irregular.

"What's going on?" Severus asked, concerned.

"Your magic has been disrupted. Most likely by the severity of your injuries," Pomfrey answered.

"Is it deadly to me?"

"No, it should rectify itself soon. Things have already improved from when you first came in. Just be cautions and no excessive use of magic for the next few days."

"Am I free to leave yet?"

"Yes, you can go. I am sure Miss Evans will be happy to see you."

As Pomfrey walked away, Severus looked over to the covered beds. He knew who was behind them of course. Who knows how long it could be before they were restored. He suddenly got an idea. Pomfrey and Balthazar had both said no excessive use of magic, but these people didn't deserve to be stuck in a petrified state as they were, especially Mary. He walked over to the bed he knew she was behind. She was exactly as he had found her. He allowed his magic to flow through him. As his eyes flared and his hand began to glow, he placed it on her forehead. The light filled her entire body and she spluttered back to life, gasping for breath. Severus quickly went over to the other bed and revived the other person, the first victim. Severus fell to the ground and the fatigue caused by performing such magic in his already weakened state had pulled him under.

When he woke again, not much time had passed only maybe an hour. Pomfrey was irate, however and that was something nobody wanted to see.

"I just told you no excessive use of magic! If you don't let your magic realign you could risk permanently damaging it. Luckily that has not happened, but don't push your luck any more," she shouted, exasperated.

"Are they okay?" Severus asked.

"Yes, they are fine thanks to you. What you did was still reckless, however, and for that little stunt you get to spend another day here," Pomfrey said as she walked off.

Severus sat, contemplating what he had just done. How had he done it? It was said that not even Angels could fix petrification. He only tried it out of desperation. Was the info simply wrong? It wouldn't be that surprising if it was. Angels being a rare sight, the info on what they can do is sparse at best and flat out wrong at worst. He would simply have to ask Amara next time he saw her.

Lily came in about a half hour later, happy to see that he was alright. Mary had explained what he did for both her and the other person. Lily scolded Severus for going against what he was told by both Balhazar and Madam Pomfrey. She moved onto another subject: yesterday's paper.

Death Eater Attacks: 52 Dead

The paper went on to explain that there have been several attacks across the country, resulting in the deaths of 52 people. About 30 of them were Muggles, the rest of them were magical. It also explained that there was a group of Death Eaters that had been slaughtered. The family who witnessed the whole thing gave a description of what the person looked like.

"Abraxas? What the hell is Abraxas doing killing Death Eaters?" Severus asked.

"You got me. It's not his profile. Maybe he stumbled upon them by chance, but if that was the case why would he bother saving the family? He doesn't care about anything but his own agenda," Lily said.

"I have no idea. Let's worry about that some other time," Severus said.

"You need your rest, Sev. I'll see you when you are released," Lily said, kissing him softly.

The next day Severus was finally released from the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey gave him a warning once again. However, before he could get far, he was approached by Remus. Severus just ignored him and kept walking. As Remus shouted at his back, he stopped but did not turn around.

"Look, Sev, I just want to thank you. For what you did for Mary. I..." he was interrupted.

"Shut up," Severus snarled, turning around and facing him. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for them. You lost the right to call me by any variation of my first name when you betrayed me. So as far as I am concerned, you can fuck off."

"I am sorry. I was being an idiot and I acknowledge that. I hope you can forgive me sometime," Remus said, sadly.

"Maybe one day, Lupin. But for right now, all I want to do is kick your teeth in. So walk away from me before I decide to do just that," Severus said, letting his eyes light up to show just how serious he is. Remus nodded and walked away, head hung low.

He knew Lily was going to be upset that he talked to Remus like that but it wasn't his job to baby him. Remus turned his back on him and it was time he owned up to that. After all, Severus had to own up to his mistakes whenever he made them so Remus needs to grow up and do the same.


	15. The Final Holiday PT. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone welcome back. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Updates will be a bit slower because I am currently working on the next story and even though this one is finished in terms of content, I still need to edit the chapters which is a very tedious process especially for the longer ones. Without a beta reader I have to do all that on my own and it's a lot of work. However, there will never be a wait time of longer than two weeks unless something happens like I get COVID-19 or something like that which has not happened and I hope it doesn't happen but it is a very realistic possibility. Anyways, enjoy the 15th chapter, we've got 10 to go.

Remus was miserable and to say that was the understatement of the year. He had been a complete and utter idiot. When Mary was attacked, he lost his head and got pissed at Severus. Severus, who had treated him better than anyone else ever had basically told him to fuck off. Lily was not talking to him either as a result of what he had done. She almost always sides with Severus. How Severus managed to cure Mary he does not know. He knew Severus was telling the truth on that he couldn't do it at the time she was attacked. When Remus went to thank him, Severus simply stated that he did it for Mary and that he cared very little about Remus. He even refused to let him call him by his first name. After Severus threatened him he did not hesitate in taking off. He knew what Severus was capable of especially when he was enraged and did not desire to be on the receiving end of his former friend's wrath. When he told Mary what happened, she did not leave him but she also refused to support him basically saying that he needed to atone for his mistakes. How was he supposed to do that when the person he made said mistakes against was the most unforgiving person on the planet? 

The Christmas holidays which officially begin tomorrow were looking as bleak as ever. Without his friends to write to he was more alone than he had ever been. His parents, while not abusive or anything like that, were not exactly warm toward him. He was a werewolf, the worst abomination to ever walk the Earth especially in his father's eyes. It was his father's fault he was one in the first place because he decided to insult the worst of them, Fenrir Greyback, all those years ago. Fenrir Greyback was notorious for attacking children, especially children of those who had angered him. Remus' worst days at home were during full moon nights for sure. He would often spend them locked in a warded cage. While Severus did manage to fix the formula and help him keep control during full moons with help from the professional, this only made it worse. He did not bother to tell his parents that he was safe now. They don't trust him and would simply assume he was trying to get out of being caged since they know how much he hates it. He never told Severus and Lily what his home life was like. Ever since Severus had gotten access to his true heritage he has been more dangerous. While mostly the same personality wise, he has the power to do serious harm to people. He knew that if Severus suspected he was being abused he would kill his parents with no hesitation and make sure their bodies were never found. There was nothing worse than someone who abuses their child in Severus' eyes. Lily somewhat suspected his home life was not exactly ideal but she did not ask which he was thankful for. 

The next day Remus went to the Great Hall. It was almost time to leave for those who were. He caught Severus' eye. Severus barely acknowledged him aside from a quick glare. Lily was not quite as hostile or as threatening but she did not want to speak to him either. Remus looked down. This was his fault and he knew it. That just made things a thousand times worse. Lily's life had been put in danger many more times than Mary's had been and Severus had been injured in her defense. One moment of stupidity was all it took to cost him his friends. As it was time to get on the train, he walked past the compartment Severus and Lily were in. Normally, he would be joining them but he knew that if he tried to do that now they would hex him or at least Severus would. He walked to an empty compartment and sat down. As Mary was staying at Hogwarts to make up for the work she had missed, nobody else joined him the entire time. It was a very lonely ride. 

* * *

Severus was sitting on the train with Lily. He saw Remus stop at the door for a second then walk past. Good thing too because he would have been hexed had he walked in. Severus would forgive him someday, but he just needs time. Remus needs to understand that. Growing up like he did, he does not trust easily and when someone betrays that trust he has a hard time giving it out again. He couldn't wait to get home. Not only to spend the holiday with Lily, but to see his surrogate mother and his friend Amara. He wondered how she was doing. Last time he saw her, she was in a very pitiful state. Has she recovered? Will she ever be able to? These questions had been plaguing his mind ever since he got her out of there. Even if she recovered physically, mental recovery is an entirely different story. Lily noticed his state and spoke up to get his attention. 

"Sev," she said. 

Severus shook his head and looked at her. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind." 

"Like what?" 

"Amara, mostly. Like how is she doing?" 

"I know. I am worried about her too. One doesn't go through what she has without some scars."

"I worry he is going to go after her again. I don't think she could withstand that kind of torture twice. Without Amara, those Abraxas turns his ire toward would be in even worse danger than they already are. Amara shows empathy toward them and would not let a single one of them die if she could help it. Balthazar couldn't care less. He would try to stop Abraxas, but he wouldn't care who was lost in the process."

"He was pretty friendly when we went to save Amara and before that too," Lily pointed out. 

"Only because he had to be. He needed my help and willingly walked us into a trap. He only went back for me because he knew Amara would have his head when she recovered if he let me die in there," Severus responded. 

"You almost died because you foolishly tried to fight him yourself," at Severus' look she quickly added, "no offense but it is true. When he attacked us at our home you nearly drained yourself of all of your magic and that was just to banish him from the house. He only had a fraction of his power at the time and you didn't even do any real damage to him. Now that he is at full power it is incredibly stupid to assume you will be able to do anything to him without the Emerald Dagger and even with that you didn't kill him."

"I am aware, Lily! Yes, it was stupid but what other option did we have?!" Severus was very irritated now. "We had just taken Amara from him. Who knows what he would have done had I not tried to take him out right there. Forget Amara for a second. Think about all those innocent Veela he is going to slaughter now because I failed. Think about anything or anyone else he decides needs to be 'exterminated' think about them for a second, Lily! My life hardly balances thousands and you know it."

Lily was shocked. Severus never raised his voice toward her. This must really be getting to him. "I never meant to imply that they meant nothing Sev." 

"The only reason he has not done much is because he is attempting to gather supporters. After our little adventure at his hideout, he may forget that altogether. He doesn't need them after all, his ego just wants him to have others appreciate his so called great work." 

"He did kill a bunch of Death Eaters just a few days ago. He had no real reason to do so, they were no threat to him. He was likely venting his anger after what you had done," Lily said, understanding Severus' hidden meaning. 

"Exactly. That was only because he stumbled across them. I don't give a damn if he kills Death Eaters. Hell I'd say kill them all if I knew that was all he was going to do. But we know it is only a matter of time before a people's worst nightmare is unleashed upon them once more and it is all because of me. I failed to kill him when I had the chance to, again," Severus said, guilt lacing his tone.

"It isn't your fault, Sev. Was it stupid to attempt it alone? Yes, absolutely. But him getting away was not your fault. Those injuries are bound to slow him down some," Lily said with certainty. 

"Didn't seem that slowed down when he killed those Death Eaters. You read that paper as well, you know what kind of injuries they suffered. Some of the bodies couldn't even be identified." 

"But there's a difference between a mediocre wizard with highly questionable intelligence and a Veela with powerful abilities. If he went after them now they would be able to fight back. He is going to wait until he is at full strength first. That gives us time to find another solution." 

"Maybe so, Lily. I still can't help but feel like any life lost will be my fault because I failed to kill him twice when I had the perfect opportunity to do so." 

Lily continued to reassure him that it wouldn't be his fault. Abraxas was considered the most powerful of the Angels for a reason. He was an entirely different breed from the moment he was born. She was confident they would defeat him, however. His arrogance and inability to learn his lesson will eventually be his downfall just like it was last time. Once he was at his most vulnerable they would strike and eliminate him for good this time. Severus had fallen asleep. A bit unusual as it was usually Lily who fell asleep on the train. She looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set, indicating that they would be at King's Cross soon. 

The train had arrived at King's Cross about 20 minutes later. Lily's mother was waiting for them. No longer was she the bright, happy woman he had always known. She looked like she aged about 10 years suddenly and had dark circles under her eyes. It was obvious she was not sleeping and possibly not eating as well. 

"How was the term?" Violet asked. 

"It was okay. A lot of things happened. We will explain in the car, too many eyes and ears here," Severus answered and Violet nodded. 

Once they were in the car, Severus began explaining everything that was going on, omitting the fact that Lily was involved as well.

"So that is why Amara is staying at my house then?" Violet asked. 

"Yeah. Abraxas will be looking for her and this is the last place he'd expect to find her," Severus answered.

"That makes sense I suppose. If he comes here he'd be expecting to find you, not her. The poor woman," Violet mused. 

"I know. I saw her too. How is she doing?" Severus asked. 

"She's...seen better days I am sure. Most of the time she is sleeping but whenever she is awake she has a very hard time moving at all. Sometimes I've gone in to find her lying on the floor unable to get up and I've had to help her get back into bed," Violet answered. 

"Worst part is, I had Abraxas right there in my grasp. I had the Emerald Dagger in my hand and I failed to kill him, again. I nearly died for nothing," Severus answered. Lily gave him a warning look but he ignored her. 

"He's a slippery one, Severus. He's going to be a tough one to get rid of but you'll do it, hopefully without injury next time. The important thing is you did survive. You survived to succeed next time," Violet responded. 

"I know. But what is he going to do before he surfaces again where I can catch up to him? If I died that day and took the bastard with me at least everyone else would be safe from him. My life means nothing compared to thousands," Severus said. 

Lily turned and glared at him. She had this discussion with him already so she didn't need to respond right this moment but she would be having words with him later. He did not need to say that in front of her mother who was already having a very bad time. Violet, however, was seething. How could he say that about himself?! She was so angry she had to take a deep breath to calm down.

"So, Lily, how was your term aside from...you know," Violet asked. 

"It was good. Very difficult since it is the final year but not too much trouble on my end aside from a friend of ours being a bit of an idiot," Lily answered.

"What did he do?" Violet asked. 

"He blamed Severus for something that wasn't his fault at all and said some bad things to him," Lily answered.

"He'll come around soon enough, they always do if they're a true friend," Violet assured, not bothering to question Lily on her use of Severus' full name. She already knew the reason and she would be having her own words with him once they got home just as she knew her daughter would.

"We know. It is just a bit difficult to forgive him until he proves that his apology was sincere," Lily said. 

Not much was discussed after that. What conversation there was, was between Lily and her mother. Severus did not speak and he doubted it would be very appreciated if he did. He knew he was in serious trouble as indicated by Lily's use of his full name. She never did that unless she was very angry with him. He was not lying about how he felt, but saying that to a woman who was already struggling with her husband's murder was one of the worst things he could do. They arrived at home and he was not looking forward with what was coming. Lily walked into the house, following her mother. She did not even look back at him. Violet turned and spoke. 

"Lily you can go up to your room if you want," she said. "And you, Severus, come with me." 

Lily went up the stairs and Severus followed Violet to her room. "Get in here," she said in a raised voice and Severus followed without question. It was rare to see Violet angry but it was a terrifying sight indeed. 

Once Severus had entered she turned and glared at him. If looks could kill he would have dropped dead on the spot. 

"How could you say something like that, Severus?! Just because you failed to kill some egotistical bastard does not mean you are a total failure at everything. In case you forgot that bastard murdered my husband who I had spent more than two decades of my life with," Violet said but she was not done yet. She paused and continued speaking.

"What you said in the car, I don't ever want to hear that again. I don't know if you noticed but me, Lily and Petunia we don't have much left. We need you. I love you like my own. So don't you dare tell me your life means nothing. Do you understand?" Violet asked. Her anger was gone, and tears were forming in her eyes. "I want to see you and Lily get married and have children together in a world without monsters like Abraxas." 

"I'm sorry," Severus said, and he meant it. He had made this woman cry and there was no worse feeling in the world. He would take Abraxas' blade 100 times over this any day. "It won't happen again...mother," he whispered. 

Severus hugged Violet and promised her over and over again that he would never say or think his life was meaningless again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very emotional ending to this chapter. I enjoyed writing this as it gave some indication on how Severus, Remus and Violet are feeling. Also, if I don't respond to comments for a while it is because there is a storm coming through at some point today and it is supposed to be a pretty big one so I might lose power. Just know that I am not ignoring you guys if this happens.


	16. IMPORTANT UPDATE

So guys, I have been giving this some thought lately and it is the reason I have not posted in a while. I recently started beta reading for someone over on FFN and it has made me come back and look at my own work. After doing just that I have decided I really do not like how it came about anymore. A lot of things in it don't make sense story wise and some things are completely contradictory to what was written previously. So what am I going to do with this I hear you asking? Well I don't want to continue this series as is because I don't get any enjoyment in writing it when I know that it isn't very good. I also don't want to throw all that work down the drain either by just deleting all of it. So what I am going to do is remaster the entire series. That is right, from book one all the way until now will be rewritten. I won't be deleting the old works off the site but I will no longer be working on the originals. As for what will be changing in the series, probably a lot. I have not decided on that just yet. So I am sorry if this disappoints any of you but the silver lining is hopefully you'll have a much better and improved version of the series.


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